Paulo Costa, Brazilian UFC star, has slammed his Nigerian rival Israel Adesanya for his ‘disgusting’ celebration after winning their fight.
The Nigerian middleweight undefeated champion, 31, defeated Costa with a second-round TKO win to retain his UFC middleweight title in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.
When the referee moving was in to end the bout, Adesanya mocked his opponent by pretending to have sex with Costa before moving away to celebrate the victory.
The humiliating moment didn’t go down well for Costa’s camp and the fighter has slammed Adesanya for his ‘disgusting action’ and wants to have a rematch.
“I come here to talk about the actions that the human trash did after our fight,” Costa said in an Instagram video.
“I didn’t see when I was there [in] the cage but I saw now and I disapprove 100 per cent. To me, this is [personal] now.
“Nobody will stop me. Nobody can stop me.”
“I just saw his unacceptable and disrespectful attitude and he will have to pay for that in the Octagon next time. He will have to pay every penny in our next fight,” Costa said in another video.
“[UFC president] Dana White, make this fight happen. I didn’t see what he did in the Octagon until now. It’s a matter of honour now. Dana White, make it happen. I will be 100 percent this time, no excuses, to rip this disrespectful clown’s head off.”
Costa’s manager Wallid Ismail confirmed that he is even considering moving into the light heavyweight division to get a rematch.
“Adesanya is his focus,” Ismail said.
“He was thinking about moving up in weight but won’t anymore because he wants to get Adesanya, and the UFC owes him that. He will stay [at 185 pounds] only to get Adesanya because he’s really upset, outraged with Adesanya’s post-fight attitude.
“He’s a bum. Warriors fight and when it’s over, it’s over. But doing that after the fight? He’s a bum, and he can expect a nightmare coming at him.”
“You can’t do that,” Ismail told MMA Fighting.
“It was disgusting. [He] showed his lack of character. Two warriors settle their issues in the fight, but he’s a bum. That’s the worst thing he could have done. [Costa] is pure anger right now.”