Dana White says Paulo Costa attempted to use fake doctor to get cleared by the UFC

UFC president Dana White has claimed that Paulo Costa tried to use a fake doctor in order to receive medical clearance from the UFC.

Costa, who holds an unbeaten 13-0 professional mixed martial arts record, is 5-0 since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship with his last win coming over UFC 248 headliner Yoel Romero.

According to Dana White, Costa would’ve been the man to challenge Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship this weekend if it wasn’t due to his injury problems.

During a recent media scrum in the lead-up to Saturday night’s big event in Las Vegas, White had the following about Paulo Costa.

“I respect him,” White said (via MMA Mania). “I respect the fact he wants to fight. ‘I’m ready, I’m ready,’ no you’re not. You’re not a doctor. And then he got some guy who’s his buddy or something to say he’s okay. No, that’s not how this works. I don’t want to push him and make him hurt himself again. Take your time, you’re getting the fight, that fight is gonna happen, don’t worry about it.”

“He’s close, but let’s take our time,” White continued, encouraging Costa to slow down. “The more time the better with that injury. Then he starts throwing up videos of himself hitting the mitts and doing all kinds of crazy s*** that he probably shouldn’t be doing right now. But he’s a freak athlete too, so who knows. I just don’t want the guy to get hurt again.”

Paulo Costa is recovering from a bicep injury, and while White has pretty much guaranteed that he’ll receive a title shot against whoever wins the fight this weekend at T-Mobile Arena, it’s quite clear to see that Costa is getting impatient and wants to get his hands on “The Last Stylebender” – especially after their post-fight interaction at UFC 243.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/5/2020.