Looking to defend his UFC Middleweight Championship for the second time, Israel Adesanya fought Paulo Costa in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 253 card. Here’s how the matchup went.
Bout 11: Israel Adesanya (19-0) vs. Paulo Costa (13-0) (UFC Middleweight Championship)
Adesanya landed three kicks to the lead leg of Costa to start the fight. Costa landed a kick of his own a minute into the bout. Costa scored with a body kick in the second minute of the fight. Adesanya responded with another leg kick. The damage on Costa’s lead leg started to show after two minutes. Costa started to taunt Adesanya and encourage him to throw more. They clinched for a moment in the final minute of the round.
Adesanya continued with leg kicks to start the second round. Costa threw two leg kicks of his own a minute into the round. Adesanya caught a leg kick and countered with a punch in the third minute of the round. He threw a head kick in the minute that hit Costa, although he guarded it somewhat. Adesanya landed a three-punch combination in the fourth minute after catching a leg kick. Adesanya landed a knockdown in the fourth minute with a counter left hook. He landed follow-up punches on the ground in full mount until the referee stopped the fight.
RESULT: Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:59) (UFC Middleweight Championship)
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Adesanya | 10 | |||||
| Costa | 9 |
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