Israel Adesanya took seven long years and three attempts to secure a win over Alex Pereira. For most fighters, that kind of revenge would easily be the sweetest victory of their career. However, for ‘Izzy’, the most satisfying win came against another opponent he completely dominated.

At UFC 287, Adesanya finally got his revenge against Alex Pereira after losing to him three times across kickboxing and MMA. In front of a packed Miami crowd, ‘The Last Stylebender’ knocked out his eternal rival, with the moment capped off by an iconic post-fight speech where ‘Izzy’ let his emotions spill. Still, according to the former 185lbs champion, his win over Paulo Costa at UFC 253 brought him even greater satisfaction, even compared to the ‘Poatan’ win.     

Israel Adesanya rates his win over Paulo Costa more gratifying than Alex Pereira

“The Costa one was perfect. I think that was my cleanest work. Like taking zero damage and doing all the damage. I think technically that’s my cleanest work. But when you get back to kickboxing or King of the Ring, I have a few as well. If we’re talking about the UFC, I think Costa fight.” – Israel Adesanya revealed in a Bangtao Muay-Thai seminar.   

“To be honest, that was satisfying tho. The Poatan one, that’s the trilogy and the f—g story for years when I was like, ‘I can beat this guy’. But he always beats me. I finally got him; that was really satisfying. But the Costa was a sweet a**,” he added. 

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The former two-time middleweight champion and Paulo Costa shared a very heated rivalry back in 2020. Before their UFC 253 showdown, the two traded relentless verbal shots, which led many to expect an all-out war inside the Octagon. Moreover, ‘The Eraser’ was riding a five-fight winning streak and looked like a legitimate threat to ‘The Last Stylebender’, who had just defended the middleweight title against Yoel Romero back then.

However, once the fight began, Adesanya completely dismantled Costa. He landed 55 significant strikes and eventually scored a second-round knockout to settle the grudge match by total domination. After the win, the former champion continued with his antics, making it clear that the rivalry was deeply personal. Perhaps for that reason, the Nigerian-Kiwi believes defeating ‘Borrachinha’ was more satisfying than his iconic win over ‘Poatan’. 

Now, as the former two-time 185-pound champion has once again reflected on the Paulo Costa fight as the most satisfying victory of his career, he might soon get another chance to relive that moment.   

A long-awaited UFC 253 rematch could be back on the table once again

After his impressive performance against Roman Kopylov at UFC 318, ‘The Eraser’ was slated to face Brunno Ferreira at UFC 326. However, according to @leoguimaraesmma, Costa was forced to withdraw from the bout due to undisclosed reasons, marking the ninth cancellation of his UFC career.

“I was informed that Paulo Costa is out of the fight against Brunno Hulk. The reason has not yet been revealed. I will update when I have more information,” Léo Walker Guimaraes posted on X.

With Costa vs Ferreira falling apart for now, the door has opened once again for a potential rematch against Israel Adesanya. How? It’s because ‘The Last Stylebender’ had previously promised ‘The Eraser’ on his YouTube channel that if Costa won his UFC 318 bout against Kopylov, he would return to face the Brazilian in a rematch.

Costa delivered a dominant win at Dustin Poirier‘s retirement event against Kopylov. Shortly after, ‘Izzy’ also hinted that he would be open to running it back. Still, the UFC has yet to pull the trigger on the matchup. Now, with ‘Borrachinha’s’ latest fight falling through once again, the promotion could seriously consider booking this long-awaited rematch.

Adding another layer to the story, Adesanya is currently riding a three-fight losing streak, and a clash against a familiar rival could serve as the perfect measuring stick to see how much both men have evolved since their first meeting. That said, do you think we will see Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa run it back once again? Share your thoughts in the comments below.