When rumors were going around that the UFC was attempting to match up Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa in Florida, the MMA world was buzzing. These two physical beasts seem likely to deliver an exciting match. However, it was announced that Yoel Romero would in fact be fighting Jacare Souza instead.
Well it turns out that potentially the reason for the change in opponents was not due to an injury, as per the norm in MMA. According to Yoel Romero, he was told that the reason the Costa bout would not take place is due to a failed USADA test.
In an interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Romero revealed what he was told by this his management team. He was told that Costa was unable to compete due to a potential USADA violation. “The problem is,’ Romero would say, “what I can hear is Paulo Costa….he had a positive test for USADA.” This is in line with USADA’s new policy to not divulge information on potential violations until a full investigation is complete. Romero, himself has had his fair share of USADA issues.
Later Helawni would take to Twitter to follow up, after a further conversation with Romero. Romero would tell Ariel that he was unsure if that was in fact the reason Costa was unable to fight him. “He said he would never want to accuse anyone before the facts come out,” said Ariel in his post.
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
Yoel Romero is scheduled to face Jacare Souza April 27th in Sunrise, Florida.