Israel Adesanya fires back at ‘heavily-overrated’ Chris Weidman, ‘juice monkey’ Paulo Costa

Israel Adesanya earned his his sixteenth straight win last Saturday night (Feb. 9, 2019) to remain undefeated (16-0, 5-0 UFC) in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career after outlasting Anderson Silva in the UFC 234 main event (highlights).

In doing so, “The Last Stylebender” set himself up nicely to get the next title shot at Middleweight, which will come against either division king Robert Whittaker or Kelvin Gastelum, once they eventually handle their business, of course.

A couple of 185-pounders, though, weren’t too impressed with Adesanya, as former division champion Chris Weidman labeled the striker “overrated,” while Paulo Costa threatened to end the “scrawny clown’s” momentum in under two rounds.

Appearing on The MMA Hour, Israel responded to both men.

“Chris Weidman, I’m overrated, but why? Because he beat Silva a little more handily than me? Overrated? Interesting. I can say the same thing about him, heavily,” said Israel. “When I get this belt in my next fight, they can all line up and they can find out how overrated I am. Chris Weidman, that’s his opinion. But, I don’t have to pay attention. But, overrated is interesting.”

As far as Costa is concerned, “The Last Stylebender” took aim at his fighting style and physique.

“Now, the juice monkey Paula. Paula, a bitch. What did he say? See, the fight between me and Silva was physical chess on the highest level of striking. If you're not about footwork, man, it was beautiful to watch,” said Israel. “A guy like Paula, he’s a walking punching bag. He’s juiced up, blown up and throws body shots heavy, heavy. Bring that ass over here and I will test him.”

“Uriah Hall was jabbing him up, how the fuck is he going to hit me with those T-Rex arms? If I’m behind those jabs, things that follow up will be much, much different. A guy like that should just focus on what he gots next in Yoel Romero,” he added.

To hear Israel tell it, Weidman and Paulo are putting in their two cents simply to try and steal a little bit of his shine.

“Let them talk. They are just trying to get some shine because I’m in the spotlight and I don’t give a fuck about what they’re doing. I’m here living my best life,” he concluded.

Israel’s best life will soon include a world title fight. Though it could be a while before he gets the chance to accomplish that goal.