Israel Adesanya hsa addressed some of the recent speculations floating around the Internet.
Adesanya left plenty to talk about after the second title defense of his middleweight belt at UFC 253 this past Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) stopped Paulo Costa in the second round of their main event. It was a dominant performance that had many people talking. His controversial post-fight celebration also made headlines.
But those weren’t the only things that had fans talking Saturday night. Adesanya’s right pectoral muscle was also a point of conversation because it looked much different than his left. Many thought it was an injury, but others accused the champion of taking steroids.
“No, I haven’t (taken steroids),” Adesanya told UFC broadcast partner ESPN. “I’m not one of those people who need a crutch that when it gets taken away you feel weak, you feel inadequate. You see with when (the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) came through, you saw a lot of bodies change and a lot of people didn’t feel good enough without their magic supplements. But yeah – not me. Skills pay the bills.”
Adesanya did acknowledge that something is going on with his right pectoral muscle.
“I didn’t want to speak on it until I knew what it was because it’s been on me the last eight weeks, and it was growing,” Adesanya explained. “I was like, ‘This is quite sore.’ And even my girl told me to go to the doctor, but I was like, ‘No I want to get this fight over with first.’ I don’t know what it is, but from what I read about (gynecomastia), it happens to both your boobs and this is just one.”
Adesanya said he took a blood test following the fight, along with MRI scans, to check his pituitary gland.
“I’ve never been one to diagnose myself with Google, so I wasn’t going to start now,” Adesanya said. “I’ve done my tests and I’m waiting for the results.”
Adesanya scuffed any fan speculations of steroid use. He attributed claims to haters trying to discredit his win over Costa (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC).
“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.”