Paulo Costa: natty or not?
Uncertain "Borrachinha" — the most muscular man in the UFC middleweight division
Short answer. Verdict: uncertain. At the peak physique on this page, Paulo Costa is 6'0" (183 cm) and 205 lbs (93 kg) at roughly 8% body fat. That works out to an FFMI of 25.4, against the ~25 mark cited as the natural ceiling.
No official record settles this. What follows is opinion and analysis based on public numbers — how we judge.
The numbers (estimated)
| Peak physique | Light heavyweight, 205 lbs; he made 185 lbs for most of his career |
|---|---|
| Height | 6'0" (183 cm) |
| Weight | 205 lbs (93 kg) |
| Body fat | ~8% |
| FFMI | 25.4 — ~25 is the cited natural ceiling |
Era by era (estimated)
| Era | Year | Age | Weight | Evidence | Body fat | FFMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight run | 2019 | 28 | 185 lbs (84 kg) | reported | ~7% | 23.1 |
| Light heavyweight | 2024 | 33 | 205 lbs (93 kg) | reported | ~8% | 25.4 |
FFMI over time (estimated)
FFMI per era (values in the table above). Hover a point for details.
Note. Fighting weights are division figures; body-fat numbers are estimates. The verdict below is a statement of what we do not know. See the methodology page for how we judge.
Paulo Costa looks like a bodybuilder who wandered into a cage, which is why his name comes up constantly. He carried that build at 185 lbs, and now fights at 205, at 6’0” (183 cm).
The suspension, stated precisely
Read what that is. IV rehydration after a weight cut is banned as a method, partly because large infusions can dilute a urine sample and mask other things. It is a real anti-doping violation and it is not a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug. Nobody found a substance.
Conflating the two would be the easy move here and it would be wrong.
The numbers
His FFMI at middleweight sits at the top of what the drug-free literature describes without clearly clearing it — he is a short middleweight carrying a lot of muscle, and short is what pushes the index up. That places him in the band where the arithmetic cannot decide, which is the honest reading rather than a convenient one.
He fights under a programme that tests with no notice, year round, anywhere in the world, and no PED finding is on his record.
Verdict
Uncertain — the most muscular man in his division, a method violation that is not a drug positive, and no adverse analytical finding in a tested sport. The physique invites the question; nothing available answers it.
Common questions
Is Paulo Costa natty or on steroids?
This site rates Paulo Costa as uncertain. That is an opinion drawn from public numbers, not a statement of fact: the peak physique on this page works out to an FFMI of 25.4, against the ~25 mark cited as the natural ceiling.
Has Paulo Costa ever failed a drug test or admitted to using PEDs?
Nothing of the sort turned up in the sources on this page. Had it, the verdict would read confirmed instead of uncertain.
What is Paulo Costa's FFMI?
About 25.4. That comes from 6'0" (183 cm) and 205 lbs (93 kg) at roughly 8% body fat, normalized to 1.8 m. Drug-free lifters in the Kouri 1995 study topped out near 25.