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Brazilian Paulo Costa decided to come Down Under as a guest fighter for UFC 243 in order to watch a fight — the main event between Rob Whittaker and Israel Adesanya — that might determine his next opponent.
Watch Rob Whittaker v Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 this Sunday (AEDT) on Main Event. ORDER NOW >
The No. 2 middleweight contender is looking likely to be the next title challenger, and while his trip to date has involved teeing off on Adesanya, it was at the fan Q&A at Marvel Stadium on Saturday where Costa was on the receiving end.
UFC fan Q&As in Australia rarely disappoint if you’re after a laugh. Earlier this year at UFC 234, most of the fun revolved around Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and beer.
This time around, the fun was at Costa’s expense.
Despite coming off an impressive decision win over Yoel Romero in August, the undefeated Costa was lit up by the Marvel Stadium crowd; the typically rowdy audience unafraid to land some punches of their own.
Unsurprisingly, most of the jabs centred around the 28-year-old’s six-month USADA suspension.
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The jokes would land, the crowd would laugh, before Costa’s translator would have to relay the latest insult to the middleweight monster.
To Costa’s credit, he had fun with the fans throughout and didn’t take things too personally while on stage with hometown favourite Alex Volkanovski, who did receive some real questions.
Here are the some of the funnier questions and exchanges between the crowd and Costa ahead of UFC 243 on Sunday.
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Fan: “Hey Paulo, this one’s for you. I was just wondering after losing to Romero (he didn’t lose), are you planning on taking any more supplements to come back? What was in the IV drip, what was in the IV drip?”
Costa: “I don’t need, man. Look, I’m strong already.”
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Fan: “ Bom dia, Paulo. Redfoo’s little brother can translate this for you. You called Israel Adesanya ‘really skinny’, I think if he had the same doctor as you, he’d probably look like Jon Jones.”
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Fan: “ Besides Robert Whittaker, who do you think will be the toughest challenge?”
Another fan: “USADA!”
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Fan: “I have a question for Paulo. How do you expect to beat Israel when you can’t last five rounds?”
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Fan: “Welcome to Melbourne, baby … Paulo, good luck for the title shot — you’re probably gonna need it against Rob.”
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Fan: “This one’s for Paulo Costa. During the Romero fight, you got knocked down a few times. What happens when you fight a decent striker like Robert Whittaker and you’re not able to get back up?”
Costa: “You think Robert Whittaker is more dangerous than Romero?”
Fan: “Yeah, he beat him twice, mate.”
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Watch Rob Whittaker v Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 this Sunday (AEDT) on Main Event. ORDER NOW >