UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] is confused – or maybe just curious.
Adesanya remains focused on making his first title defense March 7 at UFC 248 in Las Vegas. The only question is whom his opponent will be.
Adesanya originally was set to face undefeated top contender [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag], who’s currently No. 2 (behind only Adesanya) in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings. Costa even sat cageside during Adesanya’s title victory over Robert Whittaker last October in Melbourne, Australia, leading to a brief exchange during “The Last Stylebender’s” celebration.
Shortly after, it was revealed that Costa had surgery to repair a torn biceps. When that news surfaced, Adesanya turned his attention to Yoel Romero, and a fight between them seemed certain for UFC 248. But with seven weeks until the event, no matchup involving Adesanya has been booked.
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That’s because, as UFC president Dana White revealed to MMA Junkie, Costa remains an option. Adesanya, seemingly having caught wind of this, responded Thursday in a tweet.
“I want to know something,” Adesanya said. “How do you get over a nine-month possible bicep injury in three months?” And then he laughed before the video cut off.
How Sway?! pic.twitter.com/6jL6SVFWHC
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) January 16, 2020
Adesanya has accused Costa of using performance-enhancing drugs before. The champ’s reaction in the video would seem to reinforce that belief, wondering how Costa could recover from his injury so quickly.
Last April, Costa received a six-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for receiving prohibited intravenous (IV) infusions. Costa always has denied using PEDs.
In August, Costa defeated Romero by unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 241
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