Paulo Costa has revealed a bottle of wine was behind his lethargic display during his humiliating UFC 253 defeat by Israel Adesanya.
The Brazilian took on the unbeaten Nigerian in Abu Dhabi last September, but was soundly beaten by ‘The Last Stylebender’ who even taunted him by thrusting on top of his beaten opponent after the referee halted the match.
Costa has moved to explain his disappointing performance inside the ring however, and has revealed that his decision to combat his inability to sleep before the fight with alcohol went a long way to sealing his fate.
Paulo Costa has admitted he was drunk before he got into the ring to face Israel Adesanya
‘I was a little drunk when I fought. Maybe I had a little hangover,’ he admitted in a video on his own Youtube channel.
‘I couldn’t sleep because of the leg cramps. I remember that the fight was at 9 in the morning and we had to get up at 5 in the morning to prepare, stretch, bandage our hands.
‘The UFC told us to get up to at 5 in the morning to go to the arena where we fought. I did not fall asleep until 2:30am.
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‘It was my fault and I don’t blame anyone else for it. It was something I chose myself, but I had to sleep because I hadn’t done it in the last 24 hours.
‘I drank wine. Lots of wine. A whole bottle of wine to fall asleep. I had one drink and it didn’t work. Two drinks and it didn’t work. Half the bottle and it didn’t work. And in the end I drank it all.’
The Brazilian was well beaten by his opponent after drinking a whole bottle of wine beforehand
Costa appeared sluggish and lethargic as he was defeated inside two rounds by Adesanya
Costa admitted that the decision had a massive affect on him in the ring, and that he wasn’t his usual, alert self.
‘It was a fight for the title and I was sleepy, yawning, unconcerned … I was too calm,’ he added.
Costa returns to the ring in April Robert Whittaker. He hopes a strong performance will go some way to convincing Adesanya of a rematch in time to come.
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