Paulo Costa: Israel Adesanya risking millions fighting Yoel Romero instead of waiting for me

After Paulo Costa suffered a biceps injury, the hulking Brazilian was forced to the sideline, prompting Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to award Yoel Romero the Middleweight title fight against division champion, Israel Adesanya. And despite “Borrachinha” claiming he’s ready to roll, company president Dana White wants him to slow down to avoid re-aggravating his injury.

According to Costa, it was a huge mistake for Adesanya to agree to fight Romero instead of waiting for him because if “Soldier of God” wins at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020, “The Last Stylebender” is going back to being a nobody, missing out on the bank he would’ve made if he were just a little more patient.

“Poor guy,” Costa said in a chat with MMA Fighting. “Adesanya understands nothing about business, pay-per-view sales, about money. He understands nothing. He has no idea that a fight with me would be bigger than any other, especially against Romero.

“He might win, but he might lose,” Costa continued. “And if he loses, he’s back to being a nobody again. No longer undefeated, no longer the champion, and he misses the opportunity of making millions in a fight against me. Simple.”

A fight against Costa has been building up steam over the past year because of their obvious disdain toward each other. Whether or not it’s good enough to be a box office smash for Adesanya, is another story we’ll have to wait for another day. That said, a fight against Romero is just as intriguing, even if it doesn’t have the same animosity attached.

But a Costa-Adesanya showdown is still feasible as long as the champ takes care of business two months from now. If not, at least we got Romero-Costa 2.