Paulo Costa On Recent USADA Visit: “I Didn’t Even Know USADA Existed In Brazil”

Paulo Costa was surprised to run into USADA in Brazil.

Paulo Costa is set to challenge UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for the gold in the main event of UFC 253. Adesanya had claimed in the lead up to the fight that USADA may not have tested Costa much, but the drug testers came calling for Costa recently in Brazil.

Costa, who was in the middle of filming a training video for the upcoming title bout, was visited by a USADA agent while in the midst of that filming.

The fighter then said the following in the video (transcript provided by Zane Simon of Bloody Elbow):

“Is USADA coming to Brazil? 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 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.”

According to the USADA website, Costa has been tested 45 times throughout his UFC tenure, while Adesanya has been tested 30 times.

UFC 253 takes place on Saturday, September 26 from Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

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