Paulo Costa celebrates being ‘most tested’ UFC fighter in 2019, but USADA numbers say otherwise

Top-ranked middleweight contender Paulo Costa is no stranger to PED accusations. He even took Yoel Romero’s comments personal, asserting he’d never used any illegal…

By: Milan Ordoñez | 4 years ago
Paulo Costa celebrates being ‘most tested’ UFC fighter in 2019, but USADA numbers say otherwise
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Top-ranked middleweight contender Paulo Costa is no stranger to PED accusations. He even took Yoel Romero’s comments personal, asserting he’d never used any illegal substance in his life.

A report by Yahoo! Esportes (via BJPenn.com) claimed that the 28-year-old Brazilian fighter was the most-USADA tested among the UFC roster for 2019, after he underwent a total of 14 urine and blood tests.

Costa shared the news on Instagram upon finding out about it.

Most tested athlete of the year. Soon I ll open all my workouts and feeding plan completely to transform your body and performance. Stay tuned .

The USADA website, however, showed a different story. Its list reveals that it is shelved bantamweight fighter Sean O’Malley who was the most tested in 2019 at 26 times. Following him are former featherweight champion Jose Aldo and welterweight fighter Chance Rencountre, who were both tested 17 times and didn’t test positive for any banned substances.

Costa is at number three on the list, tied with Kelvin Gastelum, Claudia Gadelha, Donald Cerrone, and Omari Akhmedov.


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About the author
Milan Ordoñez
Milan Ordoñez

Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments.

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