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After filming the first face-to-face meeting between
Israel
Adesanya and Paulo Costa
last week at the fighter hotel in Abu Dhabi and claiming that the
reigning middleweight champion was clearly frightened, Wallid
Ismael praised “The Last Stylebender” for his UFC 253 victory in an
interview with Globo reporter Evelyn Rodrigues.
Adesanya dominated Costa en route to a second-round technical
knockout in the UFC 253 headliner on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi this
past Saturday.
“We have no excuses to give. That was Adesanya’s night,” said
Ismael, who is Costa’s manager. “Paulo was waiting to speed up
after the third round but Adesanya´s calf kicks affected him. There
are no excuses, or complaints. [Costa] remains among the two best
in the middleweight rankings. He is still at the top. Now is time
to recover the body and return to training, that´s the warrior´s
life.”
The Jungle fight promoter also guaranteed that Costa will follow in
the footsteps of another client, UFC flyweight champion Deiveson
Figueiredo, who bounced back from his first career defeat
against Jussier
Formiga in 2019 to capture the 125-pound belt earlier this
year.
“Deiveson also lost one fight and returned stronger and, after two
wins, he conquered the belt,” Ismael said. “As I always say,
everything that happened to a strong warrior will make him
stronger. I have lived the sport for more than 40 years. I made
Vale Tudo return to Rio de Janeiro in the 90´s when I challenged
Luta-Livre people in 1991. I promoted more than 100 editions of
Jungle Fight.
“I know how to recognize a champion and you can take note: Costa
will get the middleweight belt, and Deiveson will knock out Cody
‘No Chin’ Garbrandt on Nov. 21.”
