Mad Bets: UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa Preview

Minty Bets is joined by Kevin Iole to preview the main event of UFC 253 between Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa on Sat. September 26.

Video Transcript

MINTY BETS: UFC 253 is right around the corner, Saturday, September 26. The main event will be a middleweight title bout between the undefeated Paulo Costa, plus 155, versus the undefeated Israel Adesanya, minus 190. Kind of close lines here, Kevin. What do you think?

KEVIN IOLE: I really like the champion in this fight. I think in the last fight, Yoel Romero, I expected him to slug, but he did not slug. And I think Adesanya expected Romero to slug, and the result was kind of a slow, ugly fight. This time around, totally different.

There is no more aggressive attack oriented fighter in mixed martial arts than Paulo Costa. He is going to come at Israel Adesanya and try to take his head off, and when a fighter does that to Adesanya, that plays right into his strengths. He's a brilliant counter striker. I think you're going to see him land some strikes. I think Costa will have his moments, but I like Israel Adesanya to win this fight.

MINTY BETS: I do, too. And do you see any knockouts here, or do you think it's going to go to a decision?

KEVIN IOLE: I-- I think it's going to go to a decision. I mean, there's always the possibility that Adesanya catches him on something he doesn't see as he's attacking.

MINTY BETS: Mm-hmm.

KEVIN IOLE: But I think Costa has shown throughout his career, he's got a pretty good chin. He went the distance with Yoel Romero in an unbelievable fight, so I would say it goes the distance with Israel Adesanya winning the decision.

MINTY BETS: All righty, it should be a good fight. Can't wait. Thank you so much, Kevin.

KEVIN IOLE: Thank you, Minty.

MINTY BETS: If you want in on the action, head over to betmgm.com/yahoo. New users get 100% match up to $1,000. Available in Colorado, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Indiana.

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