UFC President Dana White predicts Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa could be the Fight of the Year.
UFC middleweight champion Adesanya defends the title against Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC 253. White predicts the headlining encounter could out-perform every other fight of 2020.
“I don’t know what you guys think, but I predict that’s ‘Fight of the Year,'” White said at the UFC 252 post-fight press conference (via MMA Junkie). “I think stylistically, it’s the perfect fight. If you look at the way Costa fights, he puts pressure on you, he stays in your face the whole time. Adesanya likes to stay on the outside and pick you apart. I think that fight is going to be an absolute war. Just stylistically, it matches up really, really well, and both guys are animals. Both guys want this fight really bad, and I think it’s going to be ‘Fight of the Year.'”
There is a lot of factors that may make White's prediction true. Both fighters are undefeated as professional MMA competitors: Costa is ranked number two in the middleweight division, and both fighters have a total of 26 finishes combined in their MMA careers. Additionally, Costa has a strong chin and hulking forward pressure; meanwhile, Adesanya arguably has the best precision striking to ever grace MMA.
UFC 253 takes place on Saturday, September 26 from a location to be announced. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
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