WATCH: Israel Adesanya And Paulo Costa Get Heated During Staredown

Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa lost their cool during the final UFC 253 pre-fight staredown.

Adesanya and Costa have had bad blood brewing for a while. “The Last Stylebender” has been afraid to hurl accusations of PED use Costa’s way. On the flip side, Costa has said numerous times that he finds Adesanya to be disrespectful and cocky.

Many were surprised that Adesanya and Costa were seemingly cordial when they met face-to-face during fight week. The moment of peace didn’t last as Adesanya said he was simply sizing Costa up. During his media scrum, Adesanya was given numerous balloon animals in reference to his jab at Costa, alleging PED use.

Following the UFC 253 weigh-ins, the final pre-fight staredowns commenced. When Costa pulled out a white belt for Adesanya, insinuating that he’s just a beginner in comparison, Adesanya swung the belt at Costa. The two had to be separated.

Here’s the intense staredown between Adesanya and Costa.

THE BEEF IS REAL 😤

Things get personal as Costa taunts Adesanya with a white belt at weigh-ins.

[ #UFC253 – LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/QLKv2kFUC5 ] pic.twitter.com/axIHv9vhsh

— UFC (@ufc) September 25, 2020

Here’s another video with sound, courtesy of The Schmo.

Got HEATED 🔥 @stylebender @BorrachinhaMMA #UFC253 pic.twitter.com/FqbMYpizzW

— The Schmo (@TheSchmo312) September 25, 2020