Israel Adesanya is still the UFC middleweight champion of the world after turning back the challenge of top contender Paulo Costa with surprising ease in the main event of UFC 253.It would be hard to find fault with Adesanya's performance inside the Octagon on Saturday night. "The Last Stylebender" peppered the previously unbeaten Costa with brutal leg kicks from the outset of the bout - and, by the second round, the damage sustained by the Brazillian was impossible to miss.Adesanya knew he had his man in trouble and closed the show with a little under a minute of the second round remaining. A picture-perfect counter left hand saw Costa drop to the canvas, before being saved by referee Jason Herzog.As impressed as fans were with Adesanya's work, the same cannot be said for his antics immediately following the stoppage.Shortly after Herzog waved the fight off, Adesanya stood over Costa and made a thrusting motion with his hips - as if to hump his opponent.The pair had exchanged many heated words in the lead up to the fight over Adesanya's supposed lack of a ground game - and it seems likely that this was the motivation behind Adesanya's crude gesture.With that said, there can be no denying that Adesanya's actions were both distasteful and unsportsmanlike. Disapproving fans were quick to react to the incident on Twitter.
"I think the air hump was a little overboard," said user @Cogent_K9, whilst others were far more damning in their condemnation of Adesanya.
"He was very disrespectful at the end. Just ruined my image of him," stated @kallegerde, with @gabefdz adding: "Those dry humps after the fight were no class. No need for that."
User @arigilberg possibly summed it up best in just two words - "The disrespect #UFC253".
Some were more analytical in their reaction, with @MMAGoat6 criticising Costa for his gameplan, rather than Adesanya for his celebration.
"Costa just didn't come prepared. He had no answer for the leg kicks. If the weight cut is not to blame, I would blame the coaches and change camps. He looked like a fighter from another era, not a complete MMA fighter."
A few also enjoyed Adesanya's post-fight statement, such as @masonmuller2, who declared: "Izzy dry humping Costa is hilarious after dominating him."
The truth of the matter is that Israel Adesanya is a phenomenal fighter - with the potential to go down as one of the very best of all time.
The 31-year-old would definitely be best served to exercise the same control over his post-fight emotions as he does during his work in the Octagon. Episodes like this paint a dark cloud over what was otherwise a great evening's work for the New Zealander.