Paulo Costa, UFC middleweight contender finally got tested by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) after many comments made by fans and Israel Adesanya that USADA has never tested him in brazil.
Paulo Costa is preparing for his fight at UFC 253 on September 27 against the reigning, defending UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Adesanya on several occasions has made comments on Costa maybe be consuming steroids because of his jacked-up structure. The champ has made statements saying Costa may have “juiced up to the f*cking gills.”
While talking during the media day the champ Israel Adesanya said “I think it’s great for me, it’s that aesthetic of it, I’m this skinny person, this little frail kid that everyone looks at,” Adesanya said of Costa during a pre-fight virtual media day. “And he looks like the perfect antagonist, he’s big, bulky and juiced up to the f*cking gills. He’s a guy that beats everybody on the fence, so when I come out there with the Bruce Lee sh*t and f*ck him up, it’s going to be ‘oh my god wow, he beat that big muscle boy.’
“Like the casuals are going to feed off of it, and I love that because it means more eyes, more attention and like I said, you don’t have to watch my fights, but you’re going to pay, and I’m not talking money, I’m talking you’re going to pay attention.”
Costa: “FINALLY USADA CAME TO TEST ME!”
The Paulo Costa recently posted a vlog on Sunday titled, “FINALLY USADA CAME TO TEST ME!”, accompanied by a laughing face emoji. Costa was finishing a sparring session when USADA entered the facility to take a blood and urine sample.
According to the USADA UFC page, Costa has been tested seven times throughout 2020 (five times in the third quarter alone), so he may just be trying to troll Adesanya and/or the fans. It’s an interesting glimpse into the whole process, with cameras showing Costa boxing and taping a urine sample, then having blood drawn from his massive bicep.
Paulo Costa in his vlog said, “Is USADA coming to Brazil?” Costa joked, speaking to the camera. “It’s the first time USADA comes. I can’t believe it! Just because we said that USADA no longer existed in Brazil, they come to knock on our door. I didn’t even know the USADA existed in Brazil. I thought they only tested in the USA. I thought USADA didn’t even exist in Brazil.”
The Brazilian title challenger Costa was hit with a doping violation early in his UFC career surrounding the use of IV infusions to rehydrate after weigh-ins ahead of his bouts with Oluwale Bamgbose and Johny Hendricks. He was suspended 6 months and fined 1⁄3 of his purse for the infractions involving the two fights. In the more than two years since that suspension, Costa has been tested 37 times by the anti-doping agency, including seven times in 2020. As the fight day is closing in the bad blood between the two fighters is also on a boiling point.
UFC 253 is set to take place on September 27th at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. Alongside the middleweight title fight main event, the card is going to feature a light heavyweight title fight between Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz for the light-heavyweight championship.
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