Israel Adesanya claims UFC 253 opponent Paulo Costa is the dirtiest fighter in MMA

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya says that his upcoming opponent at UFC 253, Paulo Costa, is the dirtiest fighter in MMA.

Adesanya and Costa do not like each other and next Saturday at UFC 253 on Fight Island both men will finally get the chance to rip each other’s head off when they square off in the main event for the UFC middleweight title. The two rivals have been connected to a fight for the better part of a year now and UFC 253 is expected to be a massive event for the promotion, with UFC president Dana White calling it “Fight of the Year.”

With UFC 253 just around the corner, Adesanya is beginning to make the media rounds for interviews. On Thursday, “First We Feast” released the latest episode of ‘Truth or Dab’ with Adesanya and heavyweight boxing star Anthony Joshua. One of host Seth Evans’ questions to Adesanya was who he believes is the dirtiest fighter in the UFC. It didn’t take long for Adesanya to bring up Costa as the answer to that question.

“Oooh, the dirtiest fighter in the sport? There’s a few. Even the guy that I’m fighting next (Costa). Like I said, I’m going to pop him before USADA does. But he’s definitely got some extra supplements south of the borer that he takes. And he even came out and he said he hasn’t been tested. I just got tested last night, how bout that, right Chance? Exactly, I just got tested last night. I don’t understand the stress it takes to cheat. That’s for me,” Adesanya said.

Adesanya is referring to Costa saying that USADA was not visiting him in Brazil and testing him for performance-enhancing drugs during his training camp for their fight at UFC 253, but this week he said that he finally got tested. Costa has been accused of PEDs throughout his career but he hasn’t tested positive for any of them, though he has been caught for using an IV after weigh-ins when he wasn’t permitted to do so.

It’s clear that Adesanya doesn’t like Costa and that Costa doesn’t like Adesanya, and finally, on September 26 we will get to see these two rivals lock horns and see who the better man is. This is going to be one of the biggest fights of the year and all the trash talk won’t matter once these two step into the cage and finally, have their fight.

Do you agree with Israel Adesanya and his thoughts on Paulo Costa?