The Pecgate mystery has been solved - maybe.
Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya said in an interview released Wednesday that his oddly shaped pectoral muscle seen at UFC 253 may have been due to marijuana use.
"To be honest, it might just be unhealthy living a little bit - smoking weed," Adesanya told ESPN's Ariel Helwani. "That's what the doctor from the UFC said: 'You just need to stop.' And I was like, 'I'm not stopping. I'm just gonna slow down.' I'm not stopping smoking weed ever."
After his win over Paulo Costa in September, Adesanya described his right pectoral as being "quite sore" and "a little bit tender." Some fans attributed it to steroid use, but Adesanya denied he's taken a banned substance during his career.
Adesanya said he had a test done on his pituitary gland. His hormone, estrogen, and testosterone levels came back OK. "The Last Stylebender" added he underwent an ultrasound and a mammogram earlier this week but didn't say whether he's received the results.
"It's calmed down. Not as sensitive," Adesanya said of the swollen muscle. "It's actually calmed down. It's just a fat deposit."
Adesanya retained his middleweight belt for the second time with a second-round TKO over Costa.
