Israel Adesanya silences Paulo Costa in empty Fight Island arena at UFC 253 with savage kicks and stunning knockout

ISRAEL ADESANYA silenced Paulo Costa in empty Fight Island arena with a stunning second round knockout.

Brazilian Costa had promised to dethrone the champion and hand the middleweight king his first loss.

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But the challenger fell victim to a masterclass of striking by Adesanya, who picked apart his rival throughout.

After the win, he gloated: "“What now? F***, I know you’re mad. Hey, stay salty.”

The opening round was a cagey affair, with Costa struggling to find his range.

But his calves took a battering as Adesanya fired in lethal leg kicks to nullify any opposing attacks.

In round two, the champion upped his product and began to find home with expert accuracy.

A high kick left Costa wobbled to the point of no recovery.

He remained on his feet and fighting but it only created more openings for Adesanya, who slipped a punch and countered with a left hook.

The glancing blow was enough to put Costa down and Adesanya wasted no time in closing the show with meaningful ground and pound.

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He takes his unbeaten record to 20-0 and revealed Jared Cannonier will be his next challenger, should he defeat ex-champ Robert Whittaker next month.

Adesanya - who beat middleweight icon Anderson Silva last year - continues his path to surpassing the legendary 45-year-old.

He said: “I told you guys, Anderson Silva left a great legacy and I wanted to do service to the middleweight division.

“That’s a hard act to follow, but we’re doing the work.”