UFC 253, Israel Adesanya-Paulo Costa Title Bout Official for Sept. 26

LET’S SETTLE IT.

@Stylebender vs @BorrachinhaMMA is official for September 26. #UFC253 pic.twitter.com/zyShnD9UOh

— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020

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The middleweight championship clash pitting Israel Adesanya against Paulo Henrique Costa at UFC 253 has officially been moved to Sept. 26.

Originally reported as set for Sept. 19, the promotion confirmed on Saturday night that the pay-per-view event will take place one week later. A location was not announced, but it is likely that the card will be held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. A welterweight clash between Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington is now expected to headline the Sept. 19 UFC bill.

Three other bouts were confirmed for the event: Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval at flyweight; Claudia Gadelha vs. Xiaonan Yan at strawweight and Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov at featherweight.

Adesanya is coming off his first 185-pound title defense — a five-round verdict over Yoel Romero at UFC 248 on March 7. The Nigerian-born Kiwi claimed the interim crown with a “Fight of the Year”-winning victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 before scoring a second-round KO of Robert Whittaker to capture the undisputed title at UFC 243. “The Last Stylebender” is 19-0 as a professional.

Costa, meanwhile, last appeared at UFC 241, where he earned a competitive unanimous decision against Romero last August. “Borrachinha” was then sidelined for the early part of 2020 due to biceps surgery, as Romero stepped in to take the next title opportunity at 185 pounds. The Brazilian is 5-0 in UFC competition, with four of those triumphs coming via KO/TKO.