White dispels Adesanya vs. Costa report: ‘The fight is not done’

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

“It’s not done… F—ng guys. They were told not to say anything.”

On Saturday, Brazilian news outlet Combate broke the news about the supposed finalization of the middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa at UFC 253. The challenger also confirmed the news via Twitter.

The fight is on folks!
In September I ll bring the Show up

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) July 18, 2020

Dana White was asked about it during the UFC Fight Island 2 post-event scrum, and the UFC president was both surprised and slightly upset with what he’d just heard.

“I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think both have signed. It’s not done,” White said (transcript by MMA News). “F—ng guys. They were told not to say anything. Combate breaks it immediately, tweeting, you know? The fight is not done.”

White stated that a promo would’ve been released on Saturday during their event, much like how the UFC does when announcing big-ticket matchups.

“The people are out saying that the fight is done when the fight isn’t done,” he said. “You know what I mean? It drives me crazy.

“If the fight was done, you would have saw a promo tonight inside the arena. There would have been promos on TV for it. And we would be announcing the fight. It’s not done.”

UFC 253 is currently scheduled for September 19th in Las Vegas.