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Barring unexpected and unforeseen circumstances, Paulo Costa will be the next opponent for Israel Adesanya. The middleweight champ believes he has the Brazilian all figured out even before fighting him. Adesanya, hence, made a bold claim regarding what will happen when they meet inside the Octagon.

Talking to James Lynch of theScoreMMA, Adesanya attempted to hype the fight. He was being very confident about the outcome. This was because the 185-pounds kingpin was very certain about Costa. He claims that there is nothing new that his opponent can bring to the table. Adesanya has years of experience of kickboxing at a high level. Backed by the same, he refused to give Costa any chance of surprising him.

Of course I look at myself whooping his a**,” Adesanya replied when asked how he sees the fight playing out. “This is what you say to promote the fight. But, realistically, there’s nothing I’m gonna see that I haven’t seen before. I’ve seen everything he is throwing at me in over a hundred f***ing kickboxing fights. I don’t think he is gonna bring anything that I haven’t seen already.”

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Adesanya’s kickboxing experience combined with Costa’s pressure fighting will make the fight a must-watch for UFC fans. The fight between the two undefeated middleweights would have happened earlier if it wasn’t for Costa’s bicep injury. However, now that he is almost healed up, “Borrachinha” has invited “The Last Stylebender” to fight at International Fight Week in July. The middleweight champ has accepted the challenge as well.

Israel Adesanya reveals he has made a new epiphany

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When you compete at the highest level of combat sports, it becomes essential to reinvent yourself to be successful. The Nigerian has already held UFC gold. To keep it with him for a long time, he is rediscovering new aspects of fighting.

“I’ve been making some really big epiphanies in fighting. I’ve been looking at some videos. You have to be able to learn from different sources, no matter who or what they are. It’s like I am curious about fighting again. Not that I wasn’t before,” Adesanya said.

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Adesanya has already completed the first leg of his UFC journey. He came into the organization and became a champion in just two years following his debut. He has already checked the boxes of the beginning of a successful UFC career. What he wants to do now is to remain at the top of his game for a long time. Consequently, he is exploring new sources of learning. So far, he has been impressed by what he has found. It has helped him expand his repertoire.

Adesanya is currently one of the biggest names in the UFC. A testimony of this is the fact that he has received call-outs from weight classes both above and below him. However, Israel has his priorities straight. His first task is to clean up the middleweight division. After that, he may think about going for a big payday.