UFC 253 Adesanya vs Costa betting tips & odds

Adesanya vs Costa UFC 253 betting preview

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi for five fight nights over the next month, kicking off with UFC 253 this Saturday and wrapping up with UFC 254 on October 25. Israel Adesanya (19-0-0) will defend his UFC Middleweight Championship against Paulo Costa (13-0-0) in the headline event of a UFC 253 card that should get things off to an exciting start in the UAE.

Adesanya is one of the UFC’s best and brightest stars. Since entering the promotion with an 11-0 record in 2018, the New Zealand-based fighter has owned the UFC Middleweight division with an 8-0 record that includes his winning the interim championship in a fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, unifying the title with a win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243, and defending the title at UFC 248 against Yoel Romero. Adesanya has passed every test thrown his way with flying colors.

SEE ALSO: BEST BETS FOR UFC 253 EARLY PRELIMS

Costa has passed all of his tests as well. The hard-hitting 29-year-old has won 11 of his 13 professional fights by way of knockout. Since joining the UFC in 2017 he is 5-0 with four knockouts, most recently picking up a unanimous decision victory over Romero at UFC 241. Costa’s brutal and explosive striking ability make him a threat to stop any fight at any time with a single blow.

This is just the second men’s title fight in UFC history between two undefeated opponents, with the last one coming all the way back in 2009 at UFC 98 when Rashad Evans (13-0-1) fought Lyoto Machida (14-0-0) for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Both of these fighters are elite strikers in their prime, setting the stage for a potential Fight of the Year candidate.

So who wins? Costa bettors should look for an improved payout on knockout props, as his clearest path to victory would be to catch Adesanya with a devastating blow to end the fight on the spot. But the more likely outcome in our eyes is that Adesanya uses his overwhelming eight-inch reach advantage, strong striking defense, and high in-ring IQ to keep Costa at a distance all night long. In doing so, he should be able to land enough blows and avoid disaster to grind out a hard-fought victory.