Monday morning, Yoel Romero went on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show with some interesting things to say. He made claims that the reason he was fighting “Jacare” and not Paulo Costa in Florida, was due to a failed USADA test. Costa and his management team have spoken out.
When Costa was contacted for comment by MMA Fighting, he explained that the comments made by Romero were “not true.” However, Costa still offered no explanation for why he isn’t fighting Romero. Costa’s manager Wallid Ismail, further went on to say that “there was no failed doping test.” He then proceeded to say about Romero’s claims: “That’s a lie. A big lie.”
Currently, Yoel Romero is scheduled to rematch Jacare Souza, in Sunrise, Florida on April 27th. Following his interview with Helwani, the two spoke privately to say that he was unsure if the claims were true. Helwani posted to Twitter to follow up on the conversation.
Re: the Paulo Costa story, Yoel Romero called me immediately after the show to clarify that he had only heard that Paulo Costa failed a USADA drug test but he is not sure if that is accurate at this time. He said he would never want to accuse anyone before the facts come out.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 11, 2019
The undefeated Paulo Costa is still without a fight booked. He has been inactive since his July win over Uriah Hall. The man they call “The Eraser” has been on a complete tear in the UFC, going 4-0. However, he only fought once in 2018, in the aforementioned Hall bout.
Although he hasn’t been very active as of late, Borrachinha is still a very hot prospect in the UFC Middleweight division. That being said, a potential bout with Romero is what the fight community wants to see. Hopefully whatever is holding him back won’t keep him out for long.
