Paulo Costa is a Brazilian-born middleweight fighter who quickly rose in UFC rankings. What makes this fighter different from others — besides his impressive wins, 12-0 record, naturally chiseled body, and youth (24) — is that he’s been accused of using anabolic steroids.
With the prominent question being, “did Paulo use steroids?” let’s take a look at what people are saying about him.
Did He Use Steroids? Let’s Look At The Facts!
When you search his name on Google, steroid accusations come up almost immediately. But when you search for “Paulo Costa steroid” or “steroid accusations,” the results are not so precise. There’s not much information on this Brazilian fighter getting caught with steroids; there are only rumors.
So let’s take a look at what people are saying about Paulo Costa and his steroid allegations:
One article by Bloodyelbow states, “it’s no secret that Brazil has a serious problem with doping among its athletes” and mentions that he is one of many accused fighters to come from Brazil (Anderson Silva, Antonio Nogueira). But they immediately follow up by saying we shouldn’t judge him based on where he came from because we don’t have evidence. They go even further to say it’s just plain wrong to label someone as having used steroids when there is no evidence of illegal substances in their system.
Another article by Dudeiwantthat mentions that Paul suffered a broken nose in his last fight, breathing through his mouth the rest of the battle. They say that this is one symptom of someone who has used steroids. And while they bring up good points, it’s still just an opinion because there are many other reasons why someone might have breathing problems during a fight. For example, being overweight can cause problems with breathing — having to work twice as hard to get enough oxygen. Or injuries to their noses can also contribute to respiratory issues. So while broken noses are common among UFC fighters, they may not have been caused by steroid use at all — or if it did, it could have been very minimal use due to the short window of time that the substances would be detectable in his system.
We can say that Paulo Costa has never failed a drug test, and he denies all accusations of steroid use. But just because someone denies something doesn’t mean it’s not true. So until concrete evidence comes out, we can’t say for sure whether or not he used steroids. Some fans wonder if he used the best cutting steroids or if are steroids illegal in the UFC altogether. Of course, some fighters prefer to use legal steroids and avoid controversy. Still, questions will remain unanswered unless official evidence surfaces.
Roberto A. Giraldo is a fitness, bodybuilding enthusiast, doctor, and nutrition expert. He loves everything that makes people move and live a healthy life. Roberto wrote hundreds of articles in the health and fitness industry. His mission is to help as many people as he can to build lean muscle mass or burn fat.