It’s difficult to be Paulo Costa at the moment. The fighter was fined for an undisclosed violation by the New York State Athletic Commission. According to Costa, it was triggered by his use of certain stomach medication. In an interview, UFC’s Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky talked about the issues surround Paulo Costa.
He confirmed that the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was looking into the violation and Costa’s status. The fighter was originally supposed to be fighting Yoel Romero in a fight. However, Costa had to withdraw following being flagged. Since then, Romero has had to step away as well.
“I don’t have any comment on that. My understanding is that New York has issued him a fine or a sanction and that USADA is still evaluating this. It’s not until cases are adjudicated and resolved that we comment on them. So I’m not gonna comment on that one right now.”
USADA has not commented on the issues at hand, and won’t be making a statement until their investigation is complete. Costa’s team has also declined to comment on the situation at hand.
It’s not clear, what Costa is being investigated for, but he was hit with a fine of $9333.33 earlier this month.