Months of Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa throwing verbal jabs at each other exploded in March when Costa tried to jump over the guardrail and confront the victorious middleweight champion, only to be escorted out of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas by UFC security.
It escalated further last month, when Adesanya and Costa insulted each other some more during a live SportsCenter interview. The heated segment included "The Last Stylebender" calling the Brazilian fighter "dumb" yet admitting he's "dangerous," while Costa tweeted thereafter that "someone will die" when the two finally clash in the Octagon.
Well, that time has arrived. Adesanya will put his middleweight world title on the line against Costa to headline UFC 253 live on Saturday night. The pay-per-view event will take place at the Flash Forum on the UFC's Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The co-main event will have Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz vying for the light heavyweight title that was recently vacated by Jon Jones.
Leading up to the main event, Adesanya views Costa as yet another proving point to continue to build his rapidly growing fighting legacy. The 31-year-old Adesanya has defeated the likes of Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero in succession since last February.
"I want to be the guy who took out everyone, so when it's all said and done, they will be like 'Man, he fought everybody," Adesanya said during a recent UFC promotional clip for the event. "'He fought everybody that he could and he's the one. He's a G.O.A.T.'"
Of course, Costa would like nothing more than to live up to his nickname of "The Eraser" and snatch Adesanya's title in the process.
The confident Brazilian fighter hasn't minced words on how he'll hand Adesanya his first pro MMA loss.
"I will start the fight going forward," he promised during the same UFC promo clip, "catch him and finish."
Only one undefeated fighter will leave the Octagon with the middleweight championship in tow. Will Adesanya keep clearing out the division, or will Costa pummel the champ as he vows to do?
Here's everything you need to know about UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa.
UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa takes place Saturday night, with the early prelims kicking the event off at 7 p.m. ET, before the pay-per-view main card begins at 10 p.m. ET.
The early prelims are on UFC Fight Pass, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. The prelims continue on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+, followed by the ESPN+ main card pay-per-view.
The early prelims are on TSN and UFC Fight Pass, the prelims are on TSN and RDS, and the PPV main card is available on Bell, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel, Videotron, Telus, Eastlink, and UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass.
The early prelims (8 a.m. AEST Sunday) are on UFC Fight Pass, the prelims (10 a.m. AEST Sunday) are on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN, and the PPV main card 12 p.m. AEST Sunday) is on Main Event, Fetch TV, and UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass.
Both the prelims (7 p.m. BRT) and main card (11 p.m. BRT) are on Combate.
The early prelims (12:30 a.m. CEST Sunday) and prelims (2 a.m. CEST Sunday) are on UFC Fight pass. The main card (4 a.m. CEST Sunday) is on UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass and on DAZN, the global sports streaming service.
The early prelims (11:30 p.m. BST) are on UFC Fight Pass, the prelims (1 a.m. BST Sunday) are on BT Sport 1 and UFC Fight pass, and the main card (3 a.m. BST) is on BT Sport 1.
The early prelims (12:30 a.m. CEST Sunday) and prelims (2 a.m. CEST Sunday) are on UFC Fight pass. The main card (4 a.m. CEST Sunday) is on UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass and on DAZN, the global sports streaming service.
The eary prelims (12:30 a.m. CEST Sunday) and prelims (2 a.m. CEST Sunday) are on UFC Fight pass and DAZN. The main card (4 a.m. CEST Sunday) is on UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass and on DAZN, the global sports streaming service.
The early prelims (11:30 p.m. BST) are on UFC Fight Pass, the prelims (1 a.m. BST Sunday) are on BT Sport 1 and UFC Fight pass, and the main card (3 a.m. BST) is on BT Sport 1.
More details about how to watch in other countries can be found at UFC.com.
UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa takes place at the Flash Forum on the company's Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Neither Adesanya nor Costa have ever fought in the United Arab Emirates.
According to BetMGM, Adesanya is listed as the -182 favorite, meaning you'd need to bet $182 to win $100. Costa is the underdog at +150. That means a $100 bet can net you $150 if the Brazilian fighter defeats Adesanya and is crowned the new UFC middleweight champion.