Who do you like, Israel Adesanya -vs- Paulo Costa? (UFC 253)

[Beetlegeuse]

The bookies have Izzy about an 8-to-5 favorite. Costa has dynamite in both hands but I don't see that the five opponents he's faced since coming to the UFC have prepared him for the likes of Izzy. Or even showed that he's ready for this fight. Of course he's got the "puncher's chance" but Adesanya is slippery like Anderson Silva, hard man to hit.

[Cuz]

Costa by TKO

[Cuz]

In all serious Izzy will probably pick him apart im just rooting for the underdog in this fight

[Beetlegeuse]

That was one of the weirdest knockouts I ever have seen. Owing to a strange set of circumstances, I was watching it live on a smartphone and I COULD NOT see that the punch landed. It looked to me like a whiff. Then later I got a digital copy of the fight and watched it again. On the real-time shot I still couldn't tell that it connected (too blurry due to watching full-speed video in slo-mo). Couldn't even see tell that Costa's head moved from the impact. It was only when I watched the slo-mo replay shown after the fight that I could see it was a barely glancing blow ... right on the temple. And Costa's head moved almost imperceptibly, but it definitely connected ... barely.

Izzy definitely had the faster hands. Combine that with ability to control the distance, his ability to get in, do damage, then get out, and the outcome was never in much doubt.

Blachowicz definitely manhandled Reyes. I didn't realize how much experience he had, almost twice as many wins in MMA as Reyes has fights period.

[Ashop]

IZZY walked all over COSTA. Definitely not the COSTA I know that night.

[Beetlegeuse]

Costa claims he fought with an injured leg, and short on sleep.

“Maybe I could have used more in the Adesanya fight, but many things happened before that fight,” Costa said. “I don’t like to talk because it might sound as excuse, but I had no sleep, my leg was totally impaired, and I shouldn’t have fought, I should have postponed it for the next weekend or more,” said Costa.

He didn't drag Dana White into the fray but, if true, it wouldn't be the first time that DW had talked a fighter into not bowing out due to injury, then the fighter gets clobbered because he's not fighting up to scratch due to the injury.