‘Borrachinha’, Paulo Costa challenged for the middleweight title at UFC 253. Unfortunately for him, it certainly didn’t go to plan. Dominated throughout the whole bout, his opponent, Israel Adesanya proved that on the day, he was the better fighter. Handing Costa his first professional loss, Adesanya brutalised Costa’s legs, bust him open with a well-timed head kick and was able to get the TKO finish in the second round.
A little over a month from the fight, Paulo Costa has come out with a number of claims as to the reason he lost the bout.