[The New Diplomat’s Entertainment & Sports Desk]
Israel Adesanya shut up Paulo Costa on Saturday night in a dominant defense of his middleweight title, winning by TKO in the second round.
Adesanya battered Costa’s front leg with kicks to quiet the Brazilian fighter’s trash talking in the early going, and by the start of Round 2, Costa had bruises up and down his lower-half.
Adesanya opened up Costa’s face with a high kick at the start of the second round, then finished off his challenger with a left counter-punch to the dome. Costa stumbled backward and could not recover.
Read also: How I Will Manage Ronaldo This Season — Juve Coach, Pirlo
The Last Stylebender already had an impressive UFC resume, but this win might be his best yet. His matchup with Costa is just the second time in the promotion’s history that two undefeated male fighters have fought for a championship, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Adesanya has already made quick work of a loaded middleweight division. His list of wins includes Anderson Silva (albeit an older version of The Spider), Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero.
Adesanya with the 2nd round KO #UFC253 🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬
— . (@sheyikvngjrr) September 27, 2020
