BREAKING: Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya knocks out Paulo Costa in second round, retains UFC title

Nigerian-born UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, retained his title with a second-round knockout of Brazilian Paulo Costa.

The win is his 20th career MMA victory.

There was less action in the first round as both MMA fighters traded few kicks and punches with Costa pressing the champion but throwing few shots.

Adesanya came out with more purpose in the second round, outboxing his opponent and landing deadly shots.

In his previous fight, Adesanya beat Yoel Romero by decision at the UFC 248 pay-per-view event from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Adesanya delivered a perfect performance on Fight Island to retain his UFC middleweight title for the second time.

‘The Last Stylebender’ was absolutely flawless in Abu Dhabi, picking apart his far bigger opponent before landing brutal ground strikes in the second round.

Costa was left bloodied and bruised on the canvas, with his undefeated record in tatters after being picked apart so ruthlessly needing medical attention after the referee waved off the fight.

The Brazilian simply could not close the distance, eating brutal lead leg kicks, desperately swinging to try and land a powerful performance.

Adesanya became the new UFC middleweight champion when he finished Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 last October by TKO. Before that, he picked up a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in the co-headliner of the UFC 236 pay-per-view event. Heading into this fight, he fought six times in less than a year-and-a-half total in the UFC and won all six bouts.

Costa was coming off a big win over Yoel Romero at the UFC 241 pay-per-view event. He previously beat Uriah Hall on the preliminary portion of the UFC 226 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, Nevada. He entered this fight on a 12-fight winning streak.