Israel Adesanya reacts to alleged CNBC story calling Paulo Costa a UFC champion

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has responded to a 'story' shared by former title contender Paulo Costa. 'The Last Stylebender' replied because it listed Costa as the champion.

Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa faced each other in the octagon in 2020. 'Izzy' showed complete dominance and a gulf in class between himself and the challenger, earning a Performance of the Night bonus after finishing 'The Eraser' in the second round.

Since then, Adesanya has had two successful middleweight title defenses, whereas Costa has only fought once, losing to Marvin Vettori. That main event defeat put the Brazilian on the first two-fight skid of his career.

With 'Borrachinha' quite a few steps away from the UFC gold, Adesanya responded to Costa's tweet, writing:

"Lol Champ."

The controversy surrounding the imagery in 'Borrachinha's seemingly-fake news story post is due to a recently-reported issue regarding an apparent attempt to obtain a vaccination pass in his native Brazil.

Costa reportedly attended a medical facility for the COVID-19 vaccine but tried to leave with the paperwork before being administered the dose. 'The Eraser' is then alleged to have elbowed a nurse while trying to leave.

Costa was taken to a local jail but was released after questioning. The 31-year-old disagrees with the nurse's recount of the story, but is due in court after criminal charges were filed.

Paulo Costa categorically denies the allegations against himself and while his social media accounts are often a place of jokes and memes (like the image above), 'Borrachinha' posted a video with 'proof' that the alleged assault didn't take place.

Israel Adesanya even responded to the video with "#freePauloCosta."

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Paulo Costa uses his assault allegation to antagonize Luke Rockhold

Although assault in any case is a serious issue, Paulo Costa, clearly confident in his defense, has used the situation to poke fun at his future opponent Luke Rockhold.

'Borrachinha' joked that the nurse had a better chin than the American.

"I have a better chin than Rockhold"

Rockhold, once champion of the middleweight division, has been the subject of the 'glass chin' debate for some time. He has lost five fights in his career (16-5), all of which came via KO and TKO. Three of those knockouts have also been in his last four octagon appearances.

Sporadic time away from the cage and multiple KO losses will have taken their toll and facing off against 'The Eraser' is no easy feat. Both fighters are also coming off the back of two losses in a row for the first time in their careers and are desperate for a victory.

Although Rockhold is unranked, a win for either fighter is sure to shake up the middleweight division.