It may not have been his greatest fight, but Israel Adesanya walked into UFC 248 as champion and he’s leaving the same way.
“The Last Stylebender” earned a unanimous decision victory over Yoel Romero in the main event, but he barely had any time to celebrate with undefeated Brazilian Paulo Costa already barking at him from outside the cage.
Costa was supposed to get the next shot at Adesanya, but a biceps injury forced him into surgery and kept him from competing on Saturday night. Immediately after Adesanya’s hand got raised, Costa leapt over the security rail because he expected to face off with the middleweight champion in the cage to begin promotion for their fight.