Joe Rogan believes loss to Israel Adesanya took a serious mental toll on Paulo Costa: “You look like a destroyer and then this skinny dude just lights you up”
Joe Rogan during his recent podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ spoke about Paulo Costa’s second round TKO loss to Israel Adesanya and how the fight took a serious mental toll on Costa.
Costa (13-2 MMA) and Adesanya (21-1 MMA) met at UFC 253 in September 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The loss was Costa’s first in his professional MMA career.
‘The Eraser’ went on to fight Marvin Vettori (18-5 MMA) in a light heavyweight bout in October 2021 at UFC Vegas 41. Originally scheduled to be a clash in the middleweight division it eventually was fought at light heavyweight per requests from Costa and agreement from Vettori. It was to be yet another loss for Costa, with ‘The Italian Dream’ coming out ahead by unanimous decision.
During Rogan’s podcast, he alluded to Costa blaming his loss on drinking too much wine on the eve of the fight with Adesanya, as well as other factors at play, and went on to say:
“I think Adesanya’s fight took a real toll on him mentally. There were so many excuses. And it was the way that Israel beat him. I mean, Izzy just lit him up like a Christmas tree.” Joe Rogan said (h/t Sportskeeda). “And that was not a competitive fight by any stretch of the imagination. And I think when you’re a guy who steamrolls everybody, and walks down Yoel Romero, and you look like a destroyer – And then this skinny dude just lights you up, and f**ks you up, and then dry h**ps you from behind while beating you up.”
When Adesanya heard that Costa was making excuses for what happened in the Octagon that September night, he commented to MMA Junkie:
“I’ll tell you one thing: The best thing to do in his position is accept the fact he lost, he got his ass whooped. The fact that he keeps trying to make all these excuses, it’s only going to do him worse in the long run. He’s making excuses because his ego can’t handle the fact that ‘The Skinny Clown’ whooped his ass badly then double-tapped him twice.”
Adesanya is set to clash with Robert Whittaker (23-5 MMA) for the second time at UFC 253 on February 12th in Houston with the promotions coveted middleweight title up for grabs.
As for Costa, he is waiting for a call from the UFC to determine when and who he will fight next.
Do you agree with Joe Rogan that the fight with Adesanya took a serious mental toll on Paulo Costa? Will you be watching Adesanya vs Whittaker? Who would you like to see Costa fight next? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
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