Paulo Costa responds to steroid accusations from Derek Brunson

Over the weekend, in the first fight of the stacked UFC 217 main card, rising Brazilian middleweight contender Paulo Costa stepped into the cage with former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. Though Costa towered over the former welterweight, this fight stood out as one of the biggest tests of his UFC career thus far – and he passed it with flying colors. After a few fun exchanges, he put the former welterweight king down with a storm of second-round punches.

This big win from Costa generated attention from many members of  The MMA community, including established middleweight contender Derek Brunson, who he called out post-fight. In a post to Twitter, Brunson suggested the chiselled Brazilian “100% on the juice,” and that he isn’t interested in fighting him.

100% on the juice. Not impressed at all. Slow and gassy. Get some more fights first . Not interested 😎 https://t.co/0FaZTaEYyj

— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 5, 2017

Shortly after Brunson levied this accusations of steroid use, Costa responded. In his opinion, Brunson is just scared.

“He’s crazy,” Costa laughed when prodded by the media about Brunson’s remarks (via MMAJunkie.com). “He’s scared. He doesn’t want a fight against me. USADA tests everybody all the time. So Derek Brunson doesn’t want a fight against me, but I’m ready. It’s like Vitor Belfort, he doesn’t want a fight against me. (Or) Tim Boetsch.”

“Please, Derek Brunson, don’t be scared,” Costa continued. 

Whether he’s the subject of undesirable accusations or not, Costa believes he’s the next big thing from Brazil. A future legend, to be exact.

“I’m the next generation from Brazil,” he said. “And I have no questions: I will be the next legend from Brazil.”

With his win over Hendricks, Costa improved to 3-0 in the UFC. The former Jungle Fights champ is 11-0 in sum.

Who do you want to see Paulo Costa fight next? Make your pick in the comments section.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/11/2017.