I think Costa was waiting for the last 3 rounds to fight bc of his cardio

[bjjwar]

I think he knew he had 3 rounds in him and he tried to do things differently.
He probably gassed hard at the 4th and 5th round in his training sessions and wanted to avoid being a punching bag if he didn't manage to finish Izzy quickly.
So instead of going all in in the first 15 min he decided to do it in the last 3 rds and save energy in the beginning, counting on Izzy's lack of power.

That's the only explanation i can see for him to fight completely different than in all of his other fights...

 

[Zebo]

He reminded me of Woodley in that fight.

 

[Frode Falch]

Or maybe he felt the power and timing of a elite striker?

 

[TheScorpionDude]

I know one thing, he'll regret not fighting for the rest of his life.

I wanted to point out how he overreacted when Adesanya threw the belt back at him at the face offs. But I was like nah, armchair psychology.

But it seems that he was indeed scared a bit. He didn't fight. He lost that fight without even trying.

 

[Bushpig]

"Paralysis by analysis"

Kenny Florian

 

[HuskySamoan]

Or maybe he felt the power and timing of a elite striker?

Costa felt the power of Romero who hits a hell of a lot harder than Izzy. Also Vettori and Kelvin lost the striking exchange vs Izzy but still fought more effectively with pressure, high output and an understanding that maintaining a range where they can effectively engage while dangerous is mandatory. Regardless of being outmatched, standing at a range where you can't hit your opponent but they can kick you almost at will is a horrible plan. Costa on average throws 50%+ more strikes per round than Izzy career wise and he's a very good in-fighter, where Izzy naturally is not....You know, 80in reach lanky counter strikers typically aren't for obvious reasons. Costa's bread and butter is in-fighting, hooks and uppercuts, changing levels and ripping the body. Costa knows how to cut off his opponents, understands he needs to flurry when he's in position to and uses the round kick to the body and head to stop them from circling away.

You know, maybe he was conserving energy and couldn't get the range down and after 20 kicks to the leg didn't have much to offer. Maybe the pressure got to him and he froze up in the moment. Maybe he was getting so picked apart at range he was never comfortable engaging. Two things are clear, Izzy outclassed the fuck out of him and Costa didn't even try to fight his fight. I've heard every analyst say it, many fighters say it and many sherdoggers now...Costa choked.

 

[chinarice]

He definitively wanted to do more but realized quickly how much better Adesanya is than he thought.

Addsanya made Costa look terrible. Dude was hesitant from the get go. After all that macho talk, he was scared

 

[cheat toes]

not sure if he would have won with a blitz on izzy. but that was a horrible choice to sit back

 

[cburm]

Hes following a shitty game plan just like yoel did

 

[pseto223]

Every time he got in, Adesanya made him pay. Even the last exchange in the fight - Costa threw 2 punches, Adesanya evaded them and landed beautifully. There are levels to this shit. Landing on Izzy is not as easy as landing on static, iron-headed Yoel. Adesanya's boxing is leagues above Costa's.

 

[BangBang]

Or maybe he felt the power and timing of a elite striker?

I felt those leg kicks sitting on my sofa. I swear, I even felt my leg twitch as I got up to raid the fridge...... no joke.

 

[Memeojima]

Costa was a hype job

 

[Tyr XIII]

I know one thing, he'll regret not fighting for the rest of his life.

I wanted to point out how he overreacted when Adesanya threw the belt back at him at the face offs. But I was like nah, armchair psychology.

But it seems that he was indeed scared a bit. He didn't fight. He lost that fight without even trying.

This.

I was actually going to make a thread about thst and how costa came off as scared to me but then. Said meh I’m just a sherbro.

but come right time once he put his hands behind his back I knew he was lost in there.

 

[flippyfloppy]

Addsanya made Costa look terrible. Dude was hesitant from the get go. After all that macho talk, he was scared

On top of that, he showed that he did not take the right conclusion. He should have decided to clinch and take to the ground already mid first round when it was shockingly apparent that distance will see him pieced up.

 

[podsox]

or the whitaker/izzy fight got in his head. he was worried about being countered

 

[EJRMAN513]

I do agree TS. Costa was gonna wait til the last 2 or 3 to atleaat attempt his usual gameplan but 3 things that factored into why I feel the finish came as it did(which includes Izzy just being that damn good(

The leg kicks
The head kick
The cut

Particularly the last two I feel like sent Paulo into a panic mode which led to the stoppage

 

[TheScorpionDude]

This.

I was actually going to make a thread about thst and how costa came off as scared to me but then. Said meh I’m just a sherbro.

but come right time once he put his hands behind his back I knew he was lost in there.

He malfunctioned for some reason... Like he was envisioning all this cool shit he was going to do and it just didn't click.

 

[PatrickBatemanVHS]

Should have just fought his usual fight. Changing your style in a title fight is never a good idea.

 

[BoTyson]

He wasn't waiting, he just had no answer for the better striker, text book stuff, Izzy chopped him down and made him miss round 1 then head hunted in round 2.

You don't rush a guy whos a way more technical striker and whos likely to knock you the fuck out.

 

[Seiryoku Zenyo]

LOL. Costa nuthuggers are funny.