Israel Adesanya is set to defend his UFC middleweight championship for the first time at UFC 248 on March 7th, but UFC President Dana White is unsure of who the opponent will be.
In an interview with MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, White initially says that Adesanya vs Yoel Romero is the fight they are trying to make. However, as the interview continues White says, “The only question is I don’t know if you see on social media, but if you look at(Paulo) Costa he looks like he’s ready to go again. And he’s pushing hard saying I can take this fight.”
Costa beat Romero by Unanimous Decision at UFC 241 on August 17, 2019, to secure himself as number 1 contender. After Adesanya won the undisputed middleweight championship against Robert Whittaker, there was brief trash-talking between Adesanya and Costa to get fans excited to see the matchup. However, Costa suffered a bicep injury and ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that “Costa team is hopeful he’ll be able to fight in April.”
Romero has been campaigning to fight Adesanya in Costa’s absence and Adesanya has set his eyes on Romero as an opponent as well. On the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast on November 11, 2019, Adesanya expressed interest in fighting Romero and said, “This is what rises me to the occasion, this is what challenges me. He’s a beast. Same thing with Robert, but there are levels to this.” With the potential of Costa being healthy enough to fight, Adesanya may have to go through him first.
While Costa seems healthy to fight at UFC 248, White is still hesitant on booking him against Adesanya. On what can Costa do to fight at UFC 248, in the MMA Junkie interview White said, “If you look at him online he looks great and everything else, but we want to hear it from a doctor. We want the doctor to tell us he’s going to be okay.” With about 7 weeks left before UFC 248, an announcement will have to come soon on who will face Adesanya.
