WATCH: A Drained Paulo Costa Makes Championship Weight for UFC 253

UFC 253 will be headlined with a UFC Middleweight Championship defense. Israel Adesanya (19-0) will look to vanquish bitter rival Paulo Costa (13-0) on Saturday. While Izzy is currently a -170 favorite, Costa is probably the most dangerous fight for him in the division. A steamroller, Costa wields unbelievable knockout power. Along with that, he has a significant size advantage over Adesanya.

Costa officially weighed in at 185 pounds for the title match. However, he looked drained while posing for the cameras. His muscles beamed, but you could see that Costa must have had a hard weight cut. Carrying his size around in this division isn’t easy.

Meanwhile, Adesanya weighed in at 184 pounds and looked quite comfortable. It is no secret that Costa cuts significantly for his fights, while Izzy is in a more comfortable weight class.

UFC 253: Does the champion leave the cage with his belt?

Adesanya has a tall task in front of him in ‘Borrachinha’. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is up to any challenge. He did volunteer himself to fight Yoel Romero, a decision not many champions would take. Despite this, Costa might be a scarier fight. After all, Costa’s last fight was also a win over Romero, albeit a much more interesting one as compared to Izzy’s.

Costa will look to impose his striking prowess upon Adesanya. However, Adesanya might be the best pure striker in the division right now. He doesn’t wield the same power as Costa but backs his performances with nuanced technique. The Whittaker knockout is a classic example of this.

Costa won’t be passive against Israel like Romero was. But Romero was passive for a reason. Izzy is a tricky striker to chase down, as he can attack his opponents in multiple ways. Costa may win the ground game easily, but we haven’t seen Adesanya wrestle on the mat before. While Costa isn’t a wrestling expert, he has good BJJ due to his coaching staff.

The weigh-ins show that Costa may have battled a hard cut. However, he is here and is ready to fight. He has been cutting down to this weight for every fight, so we know that his danger is still unparalleled. Izzy may be more comfortable on his feet, but can he back it up with a winning performance?