Israel Adesanya has had many magical moments throughout his combat sports career, but one performance stands out the most.
Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) defended his UFC middleweight title five times in his first reign, before losing it to Alex Pereira by knockout at UFC 281. However, Adesanya was able to exact his revenge with a knockout of his own over Pereira in their rematch at UFC 287, finally getting one over his ex-kickboxing rival.
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As special as that moment was for Adesanya, another performance topped it.
“That (Paulo) Costa one was perfect because I think that’s my cleanest work,” Adesanya said in a Q&A at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA. “Take zero damage and do all the damage. I think that’s technically my cleanest work. But if you go back to King of the Ring or kickboxing, I have a few as well.
“But when we’re talking about the UFC, I think the Costa fight. To be honest, that was satisfying. The ‘Poatan’ one, that’s the trilogy and the f*cking story for years when I was like, ‘I can beat this guy’ but he always beats me, and I finally got him. That was really satisfying, but I’d say – Nah, the Costa one was sweet as.”
Adesanya and Costa fought during one of the UFC’s Fight Island events in September 2020. Costa was undefeated at the time, and the buildup to their fight was a memorable one, where Costa threw a white belt at Adesanya during the weigh-ins. Adesanya finished Costa by Round 2 TKO at UFC 253 in a near-flawless performance. “The Stylebender” also made sure to taunt Costa immediately after the finish.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champion Israel Adesanya reveals best performance of his career
