UFC middleweight fighter Paulo Costa is alleged to have assaulted a female nurse while attending a vaccination site in his home town of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
According to police, Costa showed up at the vaccination site with the intention of getting the jab, but then changed his mind and didn’t get the shot, but still attempted to leave with a validated vaccination card.
Needless to say, nurses attempted to stop Costa from leaving with the card, at which point he is alleged to have elbowed a 26-year-old nurse in the face.
“His card had already been filled out,” police officer Marco Mota notes in a police report on the matter. “The employees said that, when it was time to give him the shot, he wouldn’t let them do it. He wanted to leave with his card, but without taking the shot. They wouldn’t let him. It was at that moment that a female nurse was hit with an elbow.”
Of course, Costa’s version of events to the police differs from that.
“He said he had taken the shot, but the nurses wouldn’t let him leave with his card,” Marco continued. “He said that the situation was stressful, but that he had taken his card and left. At that moment, he says a nurse grabbed his arm, but he managed to break free. He didn’t mention an elbow strike.”
The nurse, who did not require treatment, but did claim to have swollen lips from the alleged strike, intends to press charges and the matter is now due to be heard in court at a date still to be confirmed.
Costa is currently scheduled to fight Luke Rockhold in August as he looks to rebound from back-to-back losses in the Octagon. It’s not clear at this stage whether the match-up will be affected by Costa’s legal issues.
