Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa have a huge rivalry
MMA coach Brandon Gibson believed both Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa would have moments in their upcoming clash
Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa seems set to take place soon and that has been one of the biggest UFC rivalries in years.
Adesanya and Costa are unbeaten in their careers and will clash for the Middleweight title. Costa has called out the champ, Adesanya, on social media several times and the Brazilian is known for his power and strength.
Adesanya, for his part, is called the Stylebender and has a more rounded game. Izzy can still knockout opponents but this is an interesting fight between the pair.
Brandon Gibson, a legend in the MMA coaching circles, was speaking exclusively to the Casual Fanboy MMA Podcast.
Gibson was asked who this clash would go and the coach believed that Adesanya could trouble Costa if the fight went on to the later rounds:
“Costa beings a lot of heavy pressure. He brings a lot of power. Adesanya is a very sharp and very gifted striker with good awareness and I think Adesanya can take Costa in some deep waters in later rounds where Adesanya’s conditioning and cardio, technique and strategy can take over.”
“Early on, Costa’s going to come hard, he’s going to be very powerful and a force to be reckoned with.”
Gibson certainly knows his fighters after having trained top stars such as Jon Jones, Carlos Conduit and Alistair Overeem.
His prediction that Costa coming on strong early on is backed up with stats. Costa is 13-0 in his MMA career and only one of his fights have reached the final round.
That was in the clash against Yoel Romero at UFC 241. Costa has also won nine of his 13 fights in the first round itself with 11 wins in his career coming by knockout.
Adesanya has to be a little careful of the punching power of Costa and this should be an incredible fight. Hopefully, we get to see the pair in action soon, especially with all that has been said on social media.
This is an exclusive interview from Casual Fanboy MMA podcast. For more exclusive interviews and content please follow the link.
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