Dubai: Reigning middleweight king Isreal Adesanya delivered a masterly performance to defend his unbeaten record and demolish Brazil’s Paulo Costa in the very second round of their championship bout at UFC 253 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on Sunday morning.
Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) picked Costa (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) used his main weapons – deadly leg kicks, long jabs and finally ground and pound – on what was an easy night for the man they call ‘The Last Stylebender’.
The end came when Adesanya stung Costa with a flashing right cross to the temple which dropped the Brazilian to the canvas.
Adesanya began pounding him as Costa covered up and tried to survive. But there was nothing left in him and referee Jason Herzog called a stoppage.
It was win No. 20 for the New Zealand fighter and ninth overall in the UFC. He has now moved into second place behind the great Anderson Silva (13 wins) in the rankings for the longest winning streak.
