Israel Adesanya admits he is rooting for ‘new blood’ in hoping Khamzat Chimaev beats old rival Paulo Costa, with ‘Stylebender’ out to defend title at UFC 293 against Sean Strickland in Sydney
- Adesanya has admitted he is rooting for ‘new blood’ when Chimaev faces Costa
- He faces Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney as he looks to defend his title
- Adesanya could take on Chimaev or rematch Costa before the end of the year
Isreal Adesanya has admitted he is rooting for ‘new blood’ when Khamzat Chimaev faces his former rival Paulo Costa.
After beating the majority of middleweight contenders in the UFC, Adesanya admitted that he is always seeking new challenges and competition.
He’ll face one of these when he takes on Sean Strickland in UFC 293 in Sydney as part of the main event.
Chimaev’s showdown against Costa could see the winner face Adesanya, with Costa previously losing to him.
Speaking to on the fight, Adesanya admitted that he is rooting for Chimaev as he said: ‘I don’t know who’s going to win but I think if I’m favoring, I might be favoring Khamzat a little bit more,’
Isreal Adesanya has admitted he is rooting for ‘new blood’ when Khamzat Chimaev faces his former rival Paulo Costa
Chimaev’s showdown against Costa could see the winner face Adesanya
Costa previously lost to Adesanya but victory over Chimaev could lead to a rematch
Adesanya colntinued to tell MMA Fighting while appearing on behalf of Stake.com: ‘(I’m rooting for him) because I like new blood.’
However, he warned Chimaev that the fight against Costa will not be an easy one despite Adesanya beating him in the past.
‘I just made Paulo look easy but trust me, he’s a hard fight,’ Adesanya continued.
‘He’s a hard fight but I made him look easy. But I think I’m rooting for Khamzat more in that fight.’
He finalised by admitting that he could look to face Chimaev before the end of the year and could scout his potential future opponent.
‘Ain’t that funny?’ Adesanya said.
‘I’m the one actually pushing for fights. I’m even trying to have one more this year. We’ll see. Yeah, definitely [might get one more fight this year]. We’ll see.’
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