UFC president Dana White is none too pleased with the report of Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa.
Combate broke the news that Adesanya vs. Costa is set for UFC 253 on Sept. 19. The report noted that a location wasn’t revealed. Reporters such as ESPN’s Ariel Helwani later claimed their own sources backed Combate’s report.
Dana White Says Adesanya vs. Costa Isn’t A Done Deal
During the UFC on ESPN+ 30 post-fight press conference, the UFC boss let it be known that he is not happy with the report as he claims the booking isn’t set in stone (via Essentially Sports).
“I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think both have signed. It’s not done… F***ing guys. They were told not to say anything. Combate breaks it immediately, tweeting, you know?” White said. “The fight is not done.”
White said that if Adesanya vs. Costa does eventually become a done deal, it’ll likely be held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. When the UFC boss was asked if one of the fighters has signed the contract, White said it’s irrelevant.
“It doesn’t matter. The fight’s not done yet. The fight’s not done. The people are out saying that the fight is done when the fight isn’t done. You know what I mean? It drives me crazy. If the fight was done, you would have saw a promo tonight inside the arena. There would have been promos on TV for it. And we would be announcing the fight. It’s not done.”
The UFC had planned to give Costa the middleweight title opportunity back in March but “Borrachinha” was still recovering from surgery. White insisted that he didn’t want to rush things so the title shot went to Yoel Romero. Adesanya ended up retaining his middleweight gold against Romero via unanimous decision.
The bad blood between Adesanya and Costa has been brewing for a while. The two have hurled verbal jabs with Adesanya accusing Costa of using performance-enhancing drugs. “Borrachinha” feels “The Last Stylebender” needs to be humbled. Costa thinks his rivalry with Adesanya tops the one Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen had.
