UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya always has something to prove to himself in every fight, but there’s a different feeling ahead of his next title defense against Paulo Costa.
While he retained his belt back in March with a win over Yoel Romero, the fight didn’t play out the way anyone expected. Romero was hesitant to engage for large stretches of time, which then forced Adesanya to alter his game plan as one of the most lethal counter strikers in the sport.
The end result was far from what Adesanya expected, which is why he’s putting the pressure back on himself to perform when he returns to face Costa later this year.