Paolo Costa who is a former middleweight title contender will take on Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night. The Brazilian fighter will be making his return to the octagon after a one year gap. He will come back after suffering his first UFC loss against Israel Adesanya at UFC 253.
Speaking about this fight, Vettori and Costa will face each other in a catchweight bout. Owing to the fact, The Borrachinha is exceedingly overweight as he weighs 211 pounds. And as a result, the two fighters have agreed to contest in a 195 pound catchweight bout.
After hearing this news, several fans on Twitter have questioned Paulo Costa’s commitment. Meanwhile many have implicated that Costa’s reason for not making weight has something to do with his usage of steroids Consequently, the former title contender has surrounded himself in several controversies in recent times.
Apart from his run-in with UFC and Dana White regarding fighter pay, the Brazilian fighter has been long accused of taking performance-enhancing steroids. So let us take a look at all the claims against Paulo Costa and try to find out whether the Borrachinha has ever used steroids in his career.
Israel Adesanya accuses Paulo Costa of taking PED’s ahead of their fight at UFC 253
Paolo Costa and Israel Adesanya had an intense back and forth in the build-up of their anticipated title fight in 2020. Both the fighters made serious accusations about each other. However, it was Israel Adesanya’s allegations that stood out the most in the lead up of the fight.
The Last Stylebender accused Costa of taking peds after seeing his incredible and unusual physique. In an interview with ESPN, Adesanya said that “And he looks like the perfect antagonist, he’s big, bulky and juiced up to the fucking gills. He’s a guy that beats everybody on the fence.”
Interestingly, this was not the first occasion where the Brazilian fighter has been accused of taking steroids. Because Costa has found himself in trouble with USADA on various instances. In 2017, ahead of his fight at UFC 212 against Oluwale Bamgbose, The Eraser received a six-month suspension by USADA for using prohibited intravenous infusions.
Two years later, the NYASC fined Costa $100,000 for failing to fulfil the commission’s rules and policies regarding the use and disclosure of non-performance enhancing substances.
Why do fans and fighters accuse Paulo Costa of taking steroids?
Even though the Brazilian fighter has never proved guilty, Fight fans and several fighters accuse Paulo Costa of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Interestingly, there is a reason behind all these claims.
Paolo Costa often comes into fights with an extraordinary physique as seen in different pictures and videos. The Eraser looks extremely lean but his midsection looks relatively bulky. According to sources, this is a side effect of taking certain anabolic-androgenic steroids.
With the Brazilian fighter unable to make weight for his upcoming fight, the suspicion of him using steroids has been increasing. So comment below if you think Paulo Costa has used performance-enhancing drugs for his fights in UFC.