Being aggressively brushed off by Derek Brunson hasn’t turned Paulo Costa’s attention away from his fellow middleweight. If anything, he’s now even more interested.

Shortly after his knockout win over former 170-pound champ Johny Hendricks (18-8 MMA, 13-8 UFC) at this Saturday’s UFC 217, Costa (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) used some of his time on the mic to call out Brunson (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC). It didn’t take long for Brunson to respond, both dismissing Costa and adding a PED accusation in the process.

Informed of Brunson’s reply, Costa also offered an immediate comeback. Speaking to MMAjunkie a few days later, the gist of that one remains the same. But the middleweight elaborates.

“He doesn’t want to fight me because he’s scared,” Costa said. “That’s simply it. He said he didn’t want to fight me because I could be caught in the anti-doping at some point until the middle of next year, because I’m using steroids. He’s trying to run away from me and using this entirely fake pretext. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m systematically tested by (the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency). I was tested before and after the fight. Counting the fight, I was tested five times in the past month.

“All in all, since I’ve been in the UFC, I’ve been tested over 10 times – around 15. But I have the e-mails. Whenever they test us, they send a type of receipt. And I’ve been asking the UFC to provide those updated tests, so I can show them, because it’s a flimsy excuse.

“He just wants to run away, and he won’t give a reason. ‘Oh, you do steroids.’ I’ve never been caught with anything. He’s running in any way that he can. But not for long. He’s ranked ahead of me, but not for long. If he takes this fight, I’ll beat him, and everyone will see who he really is.”

Costa refers to a tweet by Brunson that puts his name next to a single test. What the screengrab showed, however, was the Brazilian under his nickname, “Borrachinha” – which previously appeared as his last name in the UFC’s official communications. A search with Paulo’s full name, Paulo Henrique Costa, shows seven tests.

Now it’s starting to make sense.Paulo Costa will either shrink or pop in a few months.See you mid next year if not suspended. @usantidoping🤔 pic.twitter.com/XqTgPWpCGB — Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 5, 2017

In any case, it’s not like Costa hasn’t heard that before. As somewhat of a physical specimen, the 26-year-old has been the target of PED-use speculation since he joined the UFC in March – despite the fact he’s never been flagged by USADA.

If you watch any interview with Costa, you’ll notice he’s not bothered by much. But the finger-pointing based on the eye test, he’ll admit, isn’t pleasant.

“It bothers me a little bit,” Costa said. “But, at the same time, it’s kind of crazy. Because USADA tests every Olympic and UFC athlete. So if I’m cheating USADA, I’m a genius. I’m a next-level scientist, a really good one, if I’m bypassing USADA. But it is what it is. There’s not much I can say. I train hard, I dedicate myself, and I eat very well. I’m always doing follow-ups with doctors, whether I’m training or not, to do everything I can to evolve.

“I was with (wrestling coach) Eric Albarracin in Arizona, and we went to the University of Arizona. We talked to sports specialists and scientists. We ran a few times, training, they gave me orientations. I’m very dedicated. I’m also very young. That’s why I have this strong physique. And I think that’s one of the things that makes me a strong candidate to be champion.”

Whatever the reasons, fact remains that Brunson, fresh off a first-round knockout win over former 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida, has been aiming higher on the middleweight ladder. And one could see why a matchup with Costa, who’s still unranked, wouldn’t look as appealing.

If Brunson is not up for it, though, can Costa think of anyone else?

“I have no idea,” Costa said. “I’d like to fight people with big names, maybe ex-champs and top-10 fighters. But I’d like to fight him since he’s talking a bunch of crap. I’d like to fight him to settle this.”

Whomever it is, Costa is aiming for either a March or April return. While he is going back to the gym next week already, the 185-pound fighter wants to step off the gas and enjoy time with his family for a little while after what has been quite an intense 2017.

Costa had no way of knowing that a few months after his UFC debut, he’d be in one of the year’s biggest cards, at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden, meeting an ex-champ on pay-per-view. But, as fast as it’s been, the progress within the promotion has felt quite natural for the ever-cool up-and-comer.

While being thrown into the spotlight – with the added weight of an unblemished, knockout-filled record – might not make for a particularly comfortable experience for many, Costa is unfazed.

Sure, he’ll admit, there is pressure. But it’s up to him to make sure that it bounces right off his back.

“I found out that all the nerves and anxiety, they only exist in our head,” Costa said. “They’re not palpable things. You either choose to feel them or not. You can ignore this feeling of nervousness. And it’s what I do. I try to stay cool all the time. Of course Madison Square Garden has a different energy. It’s a place where Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali have been, so it can’t just be like any other place. To me, it’s the biggest venue for sports in the world.

“But you have to take this pressure and minimize it as much as possible, so you can show what you can do. It’s what I do. I can fight anywhere. It can be the Coliseum. There will be pressure, but I’m able to get it off my back and make sure my hard work shines through.”

Costa’s next move is yet to be determined. But he thinks it won’t be that long until they lead him to a title shot. More precisely, the Brazilian believes he might be just “three or four” fights away.

“We just saw former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who’d been out for four years, becoming the new middleweight champion,” Costa said. “(The division) is very volatile. It’s changing very fast.

“We no longer have an isolated, runaway champion like we had with Anderson Silva a few years ago, or like Jose Aldo once was. So it’s possible to get there. With the right wins, I can get there.”

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Events section of the site.