UFC middleweight Paulo Costa details past issues with USADA: “I often had anxiety before going to sleep”

UFC title contender Paulo Costa is not a fan of how USADA operates.

Massive news dropped in the world of MMA when USADA CEO Travis Tygart announced that the agency and UFC would no longer be partners in January 2024. This split has been anything but cordial, as USADA insinuated that Conor McGregor and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan may have helped make the relationship “untenable.” UFC EVP and CBO Hunter Campbell has threatened legal action against USADA over Tygart’s statement.

RELATED: UFC’S HUNTER CAMPBELL CLAIMS USADA MAY BE “LEGALLY LIABLE” FOR WHAT THEY DID TO CONOR MCGREGOR

Paulo Costa Had Issues With USADA

“Borrachinha” has taken to his X account to speak out against USADA over how the drug testing of athletes is handled.

Once they came at me 4 times in same week . I did 7 teste that time in only one week

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 14, 2023

“I hate the way USADA chase me,” Costa wrote. “Sometimes in hard training camp I often had anxiety before going to sleep because I was woken up at 4 am to urinate and have my blood drawn. I could only sleep after breaking my diet and slept 3 hours later , losing quality of sleep and morning training. Once they came at me 4 times in same week. I did 7 tests that time in only one week.”

The UFC has already found a replacement for USADA. The new official drug testing partner of the UFC will be Drug Free Sport International. Campbell and UFC Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky have praised the new partner. One key issue the UFC brass had with USADA was their failure to create a new technology solution to track the whereabouts of athletes. Campbell told reporters that the project should’ve been completed in three months, but USADA went two years without having an app ready.

It’ll be interesting to see if UFC and USADA are heading for a legal battle, or if cooler heads will prevail.