ABU DHABI – Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa got one final look at each other ahead of Saturday’s middleweight title fight at UFC 253.
After successfully make weight for the main event matchup, Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Costa (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) participated in a staredown, which marks the end of the pre-fight build to the battle of unbeatens.
It was an intense face-to-face, with both needing to be separated after Costa, who was wearing a black belt around his waist, pulled out a white belt and threw it at Adesanya. It was an appropriate table-setter for just the second men’s title fight in UFC history featuring two undefeated athletes.
UFC 253 takes place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Watch the video of the Adesanya vs. Costa faceoff above.