UFC star Paulo Costa blames Israel Adesanya defeat on hangover after drinking ‘too much wine’ as he chases rematch
UFC star Paulo Costa has blamed his defeat to Israel Adesanya on ‘drinking too much wine’.
The thirsty brawler suffered his first-ever professional MMA defeat to the middleweight king at UFC 253 last September.
Adesanya produced a brutal display to earn a second round TKO.
And Brazilian bruiser Costa now claims he lost due to suffering from a hangover caused by too much wine the night before.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Costa said: “I was kind of drunk when I fought, maybe on a hangover.
“I couldn’t sleep because of the leg cramps. Keep in mind that the fight (in Abu Dhabi) happens at 9am local time.
“We had to wake up at 5am to get ready, stretch, wrap the hands.
“The UFC told us to wake up at 5 in the morning to go to the arena to fight. I hadn’t slept until 2.30am.
“It was my mistake and I don’t blame anyone else, it was something I chose to do.
“But in order to try to sleep, because I was awake for 24 hours, I had wine, too much wine, a bottle to try to black out.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Most read in MMA
“I had a glass and didn’t work. Two glasses, didn’t work. Half a bottle, didn’t work. I had it all.”
Despite his defeat, Costa is determined to seek a rematch against Adesanya.
And he intends to do that by making a statement in his next fight against Robert Whittaker.
Costa’s manager Wallid Ismail told SunSport: “It’s life or death. It’s like that for us. It’s the fight of Costa’s life. It’s a statement.
“How much is it going to sell Paulo and Adesanya if he knocks out Whittaker?”