Paulo Costa says Israel Adesanya is easier fight than Uriah Hall

Top contender Paulo Costa says that believes UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is an easier fight for him than Uriah Hall was.

Costa knocked out Hall at UFC 226 in July 2018 in one of the best performances of his career. After defeating Yoel Romero in a 2019 “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 241, Costa was set to fight Adesanya for the middleweight belt. But due to injuries, Costa will not be able to fight Adesanya next, and Romero seems poised to get the next title shot instead.

Speaking to Combate, Costa said that his goal is still to fight Adesanya for the belt when he returns. He says that Adesanya is an easier matchup for him than Hall was, and he hopes Romero smashes Adesanya if and when they do meet for the belt at UFC 248 as expected, which would make his win at UFC 241 look even better on paper.

Here’s what Costa said (via BloodyElbow).

“Adesanya makes no difference to me, he’s easier than Uriah Hall. I have no career goals of fighting him, I just want to because he is a loudmouth. I want to beat him up just because of that, it’s personal. When it comes to sports merit, I think Romero would be harder than Adesanya. There is no comparison. If Romero wins, it will mean more to me professionally. I want to knock him out. If I beat Romero, then I’ll want to fight Adesanya, too.” Costa said.

Regardless of who wins between Adesanya and Romero, Costa seems destined to fight the winner of that fight. It seems like the Brazilian is fine with fighting either man for the belt when he returns to the Octagon later this year, at which point he can prove what he’s telling everyone, that he’s the top middleweight in the world.

What do you think about Paulo Costa calling Israel Adesanya and easier fight than Uriah Hall?