UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy

Roe Jogan
Jun 14
8 min read

Introduction

UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa was one of the most eagerly anticipated pay-per-view events of the COVID-era UFC calendar. Staged on September 27, 2020, at the du Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — the second of two Fight Island residencies the promotion ran in 2020 — the card delivered not one but two championship crownings on a night when the sport's narrative threads came sharply into focus. With no fans permitted inside the venue due to the global pandemic, the fights themselves provided all the electricity that the empty seats could not.

The main event was a long-building grudge match between undefeated UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya and undefeated challenger Paulo Costa. Both men had entered the fight with unblemished professional records — Adesanya at 19-0 and Costa at 13-0 — making it only the second time in UFC history that two undefeated male fighters had clashed for a championship. The buildup was defined by genuine animosity, relentless trash talk, and a stylistic collision that many predicted would be Fight of the Year. What unfolded was something different: a clinic in distance management, leg-kick destruction, and composure under pressure, as Adesanya dismantled Costa in two rounds to cement his status as the middleweight division's undisputed ruler.

In the co-main event, Poland's Jan Blachowicz seized the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship — relinquished by Jon Jones ahead of a planned heavyweight move — with a stunning second-round TKO of Dominick Reyes, the man who had nearly dethroned Jones earlier in 2020. Together, the two title bouts made UFC 253 one of the most consequential numbered events of its era, setting new divisional directions at both 185 lb and 205 lb.

1. Quick Stats

2. The Build-Up

3. Main Event — Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa

4. Co-Main Event — Jan Blachowicz vs. Dominick Reyes

5. Full Results

6. Bonuses & Awards

7. Records & Milestones

8. Legacy & Impact

9. FAQ

10. References

Quick Stats

📅 Date: September 27, 2020

📍 Venue: du Forum (Flash Forum), Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

👥 Attendance: None (behind closed doors — COVID-19 pandemic)

📺 Broadcast: ESPN+ Pay-Per-View (main card); ESPN2 / ESPN+ (prelims)

🏆 Main Event: Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa — UFC Middleweight Championship

✅ Result: Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 3:59

🥇 Champion: Israel Adesanya retained the UFC Middleweight Championship (second title defense)

The Build-Up

The rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa had been simmering since both men arrived in the UFC's middleweight division with unblemished records and identical ambitions. Costa — granite-jawed, undefeated, and boasting a physical frame that looked more light heavyweight than middleweight — had been calling out Adesanya with increasing ferocity since at least 2019. Adesanya, for his part, was never one to avoid the microphone, trading barbs with Costa through social media, press conferences, and media appearances across nearly two full years before the fight was officially sanctioned.

The matchup was originally targeted for UFC 248 in March 2020, but a Costa injury intervened. The COVID-19 pandemic then reshaped the entire sporting calendar, pushing the bout to the Fight Island residency in Abu Dhabi. The delay only amplified the tension. Dana White publicly predicted the main event would be Fight of the Year, setting sky-high expectations for a collision between two unbeaten fighters. The buildup featured genuine personal animosity — Costa mocked Adesanya's physique, Adesanya returned fire with surgical verbal precision — and the pre-fight staredown carried the kind of heat that suggested neither man intended to leave without a statement.

In the co-main event, the UFC's Light Heavyweight division was undergoing its own seismic shift. Jon Jones had vacated the 205 lb title to pursue a heavyweight debut. The vacant belt was to be decided between Dominick Reyes — who had pushed Jones to a controversial decision at UFC 247 in February 2020 in a fight many observers scored for Reyes — and Jan Blachowicz, the Polish veteran who had rattled off a four-fight finishing streak to earn his shot. One man felt he deserved the title by rights; the other had quietly assembled one of the division's most dangerous recent stretches of form.

Main Event — Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa

What the pre-fight noise promised as a war delivered instead as a masterclass. From the opening bell, Israel Adesanya went to work on Costa's lead leg with a relentless barrage of low kicks, targeting the outside and inside of the thigh with a precision and volume that steadily eroded Costa's base and forward pressure. The Brazilian, for all his physical gifts, found himself unable to close the distance against an opponent who moved beautifully, angled off constantly, and made every linear charge cost something.

Round one was entirely Adesanya's. He landed at will while Costa's signature forward pressure — the tool that had bulldozed every previous opponent — looked flat and mistimed. The leg kick accumulation was visibly taking effect by the midpoint of the round, compromising Costa's ability to plant and generate power. Adesanya exploited that with counter right hands and periodic threats to the body and head that kept the Brazilian constantly guessing.

Round two brought the finish. Adesanya shifted from leg kicks to the head, landing a crisp left hook that dropped Costa to the canvas for the fight's only knockdown. As Costa rose, the champion swarmed with follow-up ground-and-pound strikes, and referee Marc Goddard waved it off at 3:59 of the second round. The final numbers told the story of total control: Adesanya landed 55 significant strikes to Costa's 12, with domination across head, body, and legs that left no question about the outcome.

In his post-fight interview, Adesanya fired back at anyone who had doubted his ability to finish opponents. The performance moved him to 20-0, made him a two-time title defender, and forced a fundamental re-evaluation of where the middleweight division's ceiling actually stood in the Adesanya era.

Co-Main Event — Jan Blachowicz vs. Dominick Reyes

Jan Blachowicz entered this bout as the betting underdog, but the Polish veteran had spent the previous two years quietly becoming one of the most dangerous finishers in the light heavyweight division. Dominick Reyes had entered 2020 as one of the sport's most exciting prospects — a man who many felt had beaten Jon Jones in February and who carried genuine expectations of becoming the division's next long-term champion.

Blachowicz absorbed Reyes' early offense without being seriously threatened. In Round 2, he broke Reyes' nose with a hard left hand, then followed with a series of punches that put the American down and forced referee Herb Dean to step in at 4:36. The finish was clean and emphatic. In his post-fight interview, Blachowicz paid tribute to the Polish people and called out Jon Jones directly — an invitation to the former champion to return to the division he had vacated. It was a moment that combined genuine excitement with the narrative machinery of a new championship era beginning.

Full Results

Main Card

Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa — TKO (punches) (Round 2, 3:59) — UFC Middleweight Championship

Jan Blachowicz def. Dominick Reyes — TKO (punches) (Round 2, 4:36) — Vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Brandon Royval def. Kai Kara-France — Submission (guillotine choke) (Round 2, 0:48) — Flyweight

Ketlen Vieira def. Sijara Eubanks — Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) — Women's Bantamweight

Hakeem Dawodu def. Zubaira Tukhugov — Decision (split) (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) — Featherweight

Preliminary Card

Brad Riddell def. Alex da Silva — Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) — Lightweight

Jake Matthews def. Diego Sanchez — Decision (unanimous) (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) — Welterweight

Ludovit Klein def. Shane Young — TKO (head kick and punches) (Round 1, 1:16) — Catchweight (150 lb)

William Knight def. Aleksa Camur — Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) — Light Heavyweight

Juan Espino def. Jeff Hughes — Submission (scarf hold) (Round 1, 3:48) — Heavyweight

Danilo Marques def. Khadis Ibragimov — Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) — Light Heavyweight

Bonuses & Awards

All four $50,000 bonuses at UFC 253 went to the card's top three bouts — a rare clean sweep by the championship and near-championship fights.

Fight of the Night: Brandon Royval vs. Kai Kara-France ($50,000 each). Their flyweight clash featured multiple knockdowns across both rounds before Royval secured a fight-ending guillotine choke 48 seconds into Round 2.

Performance of the Night: Israel Adesanya ($50,000) for his dominant leg-kick-and-counter performance against Paulo Costa, finishing the unbeaten challenger in Round 2.

Performance of the Night: Jan Blachowicz ($50,000) for winning the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a second-round TKO of Dominick Reyes.

Records & Milestones

UFC 253 generated several notable achievements across both championship bouts.

Only the second undefeated-vs-undefeated male UFC title fight in history: Adesanya (19-0) vs. Costa (13-0) matched only Evans vs. Machida at UFC 98 in May 2009.

Adesanya improved to 20-0: His second successful middleweight title defense placed him among the most dominant UFC champions of his era.

Blachowicz became the first Polish UFC champion: Jan Blachowicz's title win gave Poland its first UFC champion at any weight class, a historic milestone for Polish MMA.

Legacy & Impact

UFC 253 is remembered primarily as the event that showed precisely how good Israel Adesanya actually was. The pre-fight narrative had positioned Costa as a physical force capable of overwhelming the champion. Adesanya's response was to render those advantages irrelevant through superior intelligence, footwork, and strategic targeting. The leg-kick game plan was executed to near perfection, and the finish was decisive. It stands as one of the finest middleweight title defenses in UFC history.

At 205 lb, the Blachowicz win began a new chapter nobody had scripted. Jones had vacated under circumstances that left a genuine power vacuum, and Blachowicz filled it as a legitimate champion — not a placeholder. He would go on to defend the title against Adesanya at UFC 259 in a crossover superfight before eventually losing it to Glover Teixeira. His UFC 253 TKO of Reyes remains the defining moment of his career and one of the more surprising upsets the light heavyweight division has produced in the post-Jones era.

UFC 253 also belongs to the broader Fight Island narrative of 2020. Held without fans and broadcast to a global audience starved for live sport, the event's quality — two clean title-fight finishes, a flyweight thriller, and competitive prelim bouts — validated the format and underscored the UFC's operational agility during one of sport's most disrupted years.

FAQ

Who won the main event at UFC 253?

Israel Adesanya defeated Paulo Costa by TKO at 3:59 of Round 2 to successfully defend the UFC Middleweight Championship. Adesanya dominated with leg kicks and counter-striking, dropping Costa with a left hook before finishing with ground-and-pound.

Who won the light heavyweight title at UFC 253?

Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes by TKO at 4:36 of Round 2 to win the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, vacated by Jon Jones. Blachowicz also became the first Polish UFC champion in history.

Where was UFC 253 held?

UFC 253 was held at the du Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — known as the Flash Forum during UFC's Fight Island events. It opened the UFC's second five-event Fight Island residency of 2020.

Were there fans at UFC 253?

No. UFC 253 was held behind closed doors with no fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inside the UFC's biosecure Fight Island bubble on Yas Island.

What bonuses were awarded at UFC 253?

Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz each received $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses. Brandon Royval and Kai Kara-France shared Fight of the Night honors ($50,000 each) for their thrilling flyweight bout.

Was Adesanya vs. Costa the first undefeated-vs-undefeated UFC title fight?

No — it was the second. The only previous occasion was Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 in May 2009. Adesanya (19-0) vs. Costa (13-0) became just the second all-undefeated male title fight in UFC history.