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Israel Adesanya vehemently denies taking steroids.
“Why are they looking at my titties?”
That was Israel Adesanya’s answer at the UFC 253 post-fight press conference, where he brushed off questions about his swollen right pectoral muscle. Due to its appearance, a couple of pundits and online naysayers speculated about steroid use, which the middleweight champion vehemently denied and simply laughed off.
According to Adesanya, it started swelling up eight weeks ago, but decided to put off seeking medical attention until after the Paulo Costa fight. He says it’s still “tender” and “quite sore” now, and recently had two MRI scans and a blood test to try and diagnose it.
“I’ll wait for the results,” Adesanya told ESPN (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I might keep you posted, or I might let people speculate. It’s kind of fun to watch people cry about it.”
Adesanya did admit to googling the term “gynecomastia,” which online detractors brought up about enlarged male breats. That condition has been connected to steroid use, but it affects both breasts instead of just one.
“I don’t know what this is, but you know what? With a performance like that, I would think I was on steroids, too,” Adesanya said. “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 said. “You see when 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.”
He also continued to take shots at Costa, who he accused of PED use in the past.
“You wait until Paulo pops,” he said. “I can’t wait. I told you, I’m going to pop him before USADA does. When he pops, ooh, I’m going to gloat.”
Adesanya has been tested 32 times by USADA and has never had an issue.