“They Were Told Not to Say Anything” – Dana White Not Happy With Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa Fight Details

During the UFC Fight Night 173 post-fight press conference, company president Dana White shot down reports claiming that Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa is set for September 19.

After pulling off 3 successful events on Fight Island, Dana White will return to the United States to plan for the upcoming events. The fans are now awaiting confirmation on Adesanya vs Costa. It is perhaps one of the most awaited matches in UFC history.

Paulo Costa (13-0) intends to snatch the title from Israel Adesanya (19-0) soon.

Dana White claims Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa is not a done deal

During the post-fight press conference of UFC Fight Island 2, White expressed his displeasure regarding the premature fight announcement. He revealed that the UFC wanted everyone to remain silent until the official announcement. Nevertheless, White told the reporters they have not finalized the deal yet.

“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 tailor-made Fight Island to hold international fights. And he feels that Costa and Adesanya will compete on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

“It’ll probably be here,” White added.

White reiterates his claims

As the presser progressed, a reporter tried to extract more information from White regarding the deal. When she tried to find out which fighter did not sign the contract, the UFC boss said:

“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.”

Unlike Adesanya vs Romero, this fight will be a barn burner! Costa tends to throw caution to the wind and march down his opponents with a barrage of strikes whereas Adesanya is a brilliant counter puncher with incredible accuracy.

It is worth noting that this match has fallen apart before. A few months ago, Costa suffered a bicep injury that forced him to sit out of the competition. As a result, Yoel Romero stepped in as the replacement. Adesanya defeated Romero and kept his future title defense against Costa intact.

If these two athletes collide, who do you favor to win?