UFC Contender Admits He Was 'Kind Of Drunk' During Israel Adesanya Fight

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa has some excuses for his disappointing loss to Israel Adesanya.

While most fans thought Costa just blew his first shot at the world title at UFC 253, the man himself suggests he could’ve performed better if he didn’t have too much “wine” heading into the Octagon.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Costa acknowledged the fact that Adesanya did a tremendous job of knocking him out in two rounds.

However, the Brazilian insisted that the late night drinking resulted to him being impaired during the most important fight of his mixed martial arts career.

“I was kind of drunk [when] I fought [Adesanya], maybe, on a hangover,” Costa revealed. “I couldn’t sleep because of the cramps. Keep in mind that the fight happens at 9 a.m., we have to wake up at 5 to get ready, stretch, wrap the hands. The UFC told us to wake up at 5 in the morning to go to the arena to fight. I hadn’t slept until 2:30 [am].”

To his defense, Costa emphasized that he’s not blaming anybody for his defeat. Instead, “Borrachinha” admitted that it was an honest mistake that he made in an attempt to fall asleep the night before the fight.

“It was my mistake and I don’t blame anyone else, it was something I chose, but, in order to try to sleep, because I had to sleep since I was awake for 24 hours, I had wine, too much wine, a bottle to try to blackout,” he explained. “I had a glass and didn’t work. Two glasses, it didn’t work. Half bottle didn’t work. I had it all.”

The rematch against Adesanya is still a priority for Costa. But until then, he needs to prove himself worthy of another title shot by beating another top middleweight contender in Robert Whittaker.

According to Costa’s manager Wallid Ismail , they will do their best to score a knockout win over Whittaker as it will surely serve as a “statement” in their attempt to make a case for an Adesanya rematch.

"How much is it going to sell Paulo [Costa] and Adesanya if he knocks out [Robert] Whittaker?" Ismail recently told The SunSport. "[Costa’s] He's going to beat him. Because these guys hate each other. I told Paulo, 'We need to be focused on Whittaker. And after, we gonna talk about Adesanya'."

"We're focused on Whittaker,” he added. “The winner of this fight is going to go fight for the belt. And with this fight, people need to understand, we don't take the easy fight."