Advertisement
UFC: Paulo Costa says hangover cost him win against Israel Adesanya – ‘I was kind of drunk’
- Brazilian Costa says he drank a bottle of wine the night before the fight to try and sleep
- He blamed a leg cramp which didn’t allow him to rest, saying ‘I was kind of drunk when I fought, maybe a hangover’
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Brazilian UFC fighter Paulo “Borrachinha” Costa said he was hungover, and maybe “kind of drunk” when he fought Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya at UFC 253 in September last year.
Costa (13-1) took to his YouTube channel to explain he was dealing with a host of issue related to cutting weight to make it to 185 pounds (84 kg), which is the maximum for the UFC’s middleweight division, to fight New Zealander Adesanya (20-0).
The fight took place in Abu Dhabi on Fight Island, and Adesanya made quick work of Costa, scoring a second round TKO after brutalising Costa’s leg with kicks and wearing him down.
Adesanya is now moving up a weight class to light heavyweight to try and become a two-belt holder. He will fight Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 on March 7.
“I was kind of drunk (when) I fought, maybe, on hangover,” Costa said in Portuguese in a video on his YouTube channel. “I couldn’t sleep because of the (leg) cramps. Keep in mind that the fight happens at nine am [local time], we have to wake up at five to get ready, stretch, wrap the hands. The UFC told us to wake up at five in the morning to go to the arena to fight. I hadn’t slept until 2.30am.
Advertisement