In the main event of UFC 253 on Saturday night, for only the third time in league history, undefeated fighters will view for the title. The trash talk has gone on for nearly two years, and it continued during the latest episode of ‘Truth or Dab’ on First We Feast, when middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was asked to name the dirtiest fighter in mixed martial arts, and chose challenger Paulo Costa.
“Oooh, the dirtiest fighter in the sport? There’s a few,” began Adesanya. “Even the guy that I’m fighting next. … Like I said, I’m going to pop him before USADA does. But he’s definitely got some extra supplements south of the border that he takes.
“And he even came out and he said he hasn’t been tested. I just got tested last night, how bout that, right? Chance? Exactly, I just got tested last night. I don’t understand the stress it takes to cheat. That’s for me.”
For the record, Costa has never failed a test for performance enhancing drugs. He was suspended for six months by USADA for receiving an intravenous infusion (IV) of permitted substances of more than 100 mL per 12-hour period, without a TUE, after weigh-ins for UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and for UFC 217 in New York City, New York. The period of ineligibility would have been notably longer had Costa not exercised the “substantial assistance” clause in the UFC’s anti-doping policy, which permits USADA to mete out reduced bans in cases where athletes provide information regarding another case or a potential case. USADA determined Paulo’s brother Carlos administered both infusions.
And despite some apparent trolling on Costa’s part indicating otherwise, he has been extensively tested by USADA. USADA makes athlete testing history available to the public, and a quick shows that “Borrachinha” (The Eraser) has been tested 45 times by USADA, including five times since July 1, 2020.
h/t Chisanga Malata for The Express
