Paulo Costa cites wine hangover in loss to Israel Adesanya

Paulo Costa went into his title fight vs. middeweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 in September of last year with a perfect 13-0 record. Only the superhuman Yoel Romero even managed to make it to a decision. But Adesanya stopped “Borrachinha” in Round 2.

In November Costa offered an explanation on his social network as to what went wrong.

I don’t like to talk because it might sound as excuse,” he began. “But I had no sleep, my leg was totally impaired, and I shouldn’t have fought, I should have postponed it for the next weekend or more.

Costa shouldn’t have talked, because as he noted, it sounds like an excuse. A sore leg and lack of sleep aren’t worth referencing, as everyone fights hurt, and sleep specialists don’t prescribe arranging for a brutal fight the next day as a means to promote rest. Now, unfathomably, Costa has doubled down, in the latest video on his YouTube channel, explaining that he drank too much wine the night before.

I was kind of drunk [when] I fought, maybe, on hangover, said Costa in his native Portuguese, as transcribed by Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. I couldn’t sleep because of the [leg] cramps. Keep in mind that the fight happens at 9 a.m., we have to wake up at 5 to get ready, stretch, wrap the hands. The UFC told us to wake up at 5 in the morning to go to the arena to fight. I hadn’t slept until 2:30.

It was my mistake and I don’t blame anyone else, it was something I chose, but, in order to try to sleep, because I had to sleep since I was awake for 24 hours, I had wine, too much wine, a bottle to try to black out. I had a glass and didn’t work. Two glasses, it didn’t work. Half bottle, didn’t work. I had it all.

It was a different feeling. I’m always very active in every fight. There’s some apprehension, fear of getting hit and whatnot, so you’re on. In this fight, the championship fight, I was sleepy, yawning, and unworried. It was odd. I didn’t feel anything, not even an agony – ‘Wow, I’m fighting for the title.’ Not even that. I was too calm. All that calm freaked me out.

Then, after saying he wouldn’t say it, Costa tripled down with yet another excuse – regulators wouldn’t let his cramping legs be massaged properly.

The right thing would have been not fighting the way I was, because I was different,” he said. “I was different because I was in horrible conditions. I didn’t sleep, I had leg cramps all the time, before walking out to the Octagon, in the locker room. There are many things we can say, but won’t be the case for this video. But the athletic commission came to the locker room twice to check my leg, to remove the oil we had on it to have a massage. But, I’ll say it again, I was very confident. I wanted to fight, I thought I could do it. I just think the strategy was wrong, to not attack him.

Costa fights former division champion in the main event of a card on April 17.

Aside from the Adesanya fight where many things happened, many factors that didn’t allow me to get there well, it will be the same Paulo of always, going for the knockout at all times. That’s who I am. I haven’t changed, concluded Costa. The thing is, I was 20, 10 percent of my capacities in the Adesanya fight. We had to change the strategy in the locker room. ‘Don’t attack him, just wait for the first two rounds,’ which was a mistake. Today we know that was a mistake, but talking is easy.”

The repercussions of talking like this aren’t easy, they are heavy. What you hear on the video is the sound of a man pissing his personal brand away.