“I want to fight him very badly. I want to hurt him. It doesn’t matter if he won that fight or not. Doesn’t matter. We need to fight.” Paulo Costa didn’t hold back at the UFC 318 media day, firing shots at Khamzat Chimaev for allegedly saying unsavory things about him on his “girl’s Instagram DM.” A clash between these two would easily steal the show any day. But to stir the pot even further, Israel Adesanya has hinted at keeping his options open.

‘The Last Stylebender’ has been eyeing a return to the Octagon after suffering a devastating knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia in February. He’s setting his sights on a rematch with Sean Strickland, looking to avenge his defeat from UFC 293. Adesanya even took a jab at Strickland, taking a dig at his mental health and calling him a “fat b–ch” during the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet event. However, there seems to be radio silence from Tarzan’s corner so far.

Since Adesanya isn’t fully convinced the Strickland rematch will actually materialize, the former two-time middleweight champ is open to reigniting an old rivalry instead. The Nigerian-born star isn’t opposed to running it back with Paulo Costa. But there’s one condition! ‘The Eraser’ needs to get past Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 first.

‘The Last Stylebender on his Freestylebender YouTube channel, stated, “Okay, how about this? Costa, if you win this fight, you can fight me again! Nah, he probably have talked some s–t anyway. I do like Costa. I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He’s funny, yeah, but get to back to the [win column], show some b–s. Get back to being serious.” But Adesanya didn’t stop there.

Remember their last clash at UFC 253? Costa showed up with a bizarre approach—more focused on showmanship than actual striking. Adesanya, on the other hand, stayed sharp and picked him apart with surgical leg kicks and clean head shots, making it look effortless as he completed his hat trick of middleweight title defenses. Now, if a rematch does happen, the former 185-pound kingpin has just one request for Costa.

He added, “Be motivated, be disciplined!’ In the fight as well, not like leading up to the fight. Be disciplined. Don’t get caught with the hoopla and the crowd and trying to entertain. Your fights are entertaining by themselves. So just go there and fight.”

We’re hopefully going to see Paulo Costa put on a show in the co-main event of UFC 318 against Roman Kopylov. However, the oddsmakers aren’t too confident in ‘The Eraser’ this time—Kopylov is currently a -265 favorite, while Costa sits at +200. Interestingly, Adesanya seems to agree with the bookmakers on this one.

Israel Adesanya believes Paulo Costa is going to lose his fight against Kopylov 

Roman Kopylov is set to face one of the UFC’s biggest middleweight stars in his next outing. While Paulo Costa brings far more experience to the table, having fought for the title and shared the Octagon with legends like Robert Whittaker, Adesanya believes Kopylov’s fighting style might just be too much for his former rival to handle.

Adesanya continued on his Freestylebender YouTube video, “But, I’m gonna go Roman in this fight and via decision. He’s on the way up, he’s fast, he’s dynamic, and uses footwork really well, and mixes up the striking really well. Great takedown defense, and these are things that Costa finds really hard to deal with.”

Roman Kopylov is a rising contender, riding the momentum of back-to-back wins over Cesar Almeida and Chris Curtis. But even though Costa is currently on a losing streak, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say his experience, countering ability, and history of facing far tougher opponents could surprise those picking against him, including Adesanya.

With that being said, we’ll soon find out if Paulo Costa can bounce back, get back in the win column, and set himself up to face the legends once again. So,  what do you think can the  Brazilian shock the audience at UFC 318? Comment your thoughts down below!