The grudge between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and undefeated contender Paulo Costa finally has a date.
Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will make her second title defense when she meets Costa (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in the UFC 253 main event, which will take place on September 19, probably “Fight Island” on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
MMA Junkie verified that both parties have accepted the details after an initial report from the Brazilian medium Combate.
Adesanya, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports / MMA Junkie MMA middleweight rankings, will attempt to extend his undefeated start to his MMA career to 20 consecutive fights. After claiming Robert Whittaker’s UFC title at UFC 243 in October, “The Last Stylebender” recorded his first defense against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 in March.
Meanwhile, Costa, No. 2, has not competed since his own victory against Romero at UFC 241 in August. The Brazilian would have received his title shot earlier, but suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. However, he has been eager to get his hands on Adesanya as he has verbally attacked the champion to an endless degree for over a year.
The latest UFC 253 card now includes:
Israel Adesanya vs. Paolo Costa – for the middleweight title Mackenzie Dern vs. Randa Markos Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
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