Israel Adesanya addresses steroid allegations: “let people speculate”
After pulling off a masterful, one-sided performance, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is now forced to speak out on steroid allegations.
The claims began almost as soon as Adesanya’s title defence against Paulo Costa started. Fans, as well as former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, were quick to chime in on Adesanya’s altered physique. The middleweight champions right pectoral seemed to be drooping, which can at times be the result of substances used to block steroid detection.
Despite initially being dismissive of the allegations, Adesanya decided to address them in a recent interview.
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“I’ll wait for the results,” Israel Adesanya told ESPN about the steroid allegations.
“I might keep you posted, or I might let people speculate. It’s kind of fun to watch people cry about it.
“I don’t know what this is, but you know what? With a performance like that, I would think I was on steroids, too. They need something. ‘It couldn’t just be him. It couldn’t be him.’ It must be something.’ So for me, it’s just fun and games.”
“I’m not one of those people who needs a crutch, that when that gets taken away, they feel weak, they feel inadequate,” he added.
“You see when USADA came through, a lot of people fell off. A lot of bodies changed, and a lot of people didn’t feel good enough without their little magic supplements. But yeah – not me. Skills, bro. Skills pay the bills.”
The bulldozing of Costa was Adesanya’s second title defence. So far he has been relatively dominant in the UFC, aside from two close decision wins over Marvin Vettori and Kelvin Gastelum. Middleweight contender Jared Cannonier is facing former champ Robert Whittaker in an upcoming, high-profile fight, and Adesanya has already cited the firstly named as a potential opponent.
