Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa are bound to bring a spectacle at the UFC 253, as these two UFC superstars meet in the middleweight title match. Both guys are considered the most dominant in their division, with the note that Adesanya comes in as a champion, while the Brazilian is a challenger.
Adesanya (-170)
The Last Stylebender (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) wasn’t convincing against Yoel Romero in his last match. He wasn’t convincing at all. Adesanya avoided engaging in a fight and was running away from time to time, keeping the distance with leg chops. All this left a bad impression on the fans.
He did win that bout via unanimous decision, but we can hardly say that it was deserved. We didn’t see anything that separated him from the Cuban.
Anyhow, that was his 19th win in the MMA, and fifth via decision. That is something that reveals his style of the fight in the UFC -caution before everything else.
Costa (+150)
The only thing we aren’t sure regarding this guy is his physical condition due to previously earned biceps injury. That is why we had to wait for this fight, as Costa (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) had surgery to remove all the problems.
Unlike Adesanya, he has just one win via decision, and that was against Romero. Their match was the Fight of the Year, with both guys giving everything they have, smashing and bashing one another.
Costa is a hard-hitter, with enormous power in his fists. If he gets near the opponent, be sure that there will be some consequences for that fellow standing opposite him.
Prediction
There is some truth in what Costa said after seeing Adesanya against Romero, which is that the Nigerian avoids getting into a clinch with the big guys. Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the division, especially when it comes to counter-attacks, but on the other side, we never saw his chin tested.
Meanwhile, Costa never fought a guy who has this big of an advantage in reach, and it will be interesting to see how he handles this situation.
Nevertheless, the small editorial crew of ProSports.net gave an advantage to Borrachina, mostly because of his power and relentlessness. This guy is hungry to win some titles, and his fight against Romero left a much better impression than Adesanya’s.
What is your opinion, who will win the fight