SALT LAKE CITY – Paulo Costa didn’t appreciate Luke Rockhold smearing blood all over his face to end their wild fight this past Saturday.
The former middleweight title challenger left UFC 278 a bloody mess, but it wasn’t his own blood. In the final seconds of the co-main event in Salt Lake City, Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) reversed a position on the ground and ended up on top of Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC). It was then that Rockhold decided to purposely cover Costa’s face with blood leaking from his nose. It was a graphic scene, to say the least.
Costa didn’t realize what was going on at the moment, but said he definitely felt it.
“I didn’t see in the moment of the fight – I just felt something on my face,” Costa told reporters at the UFC 278 post-fight news conference. “I was so worried on blocking his arms so I don’t get elbowed on the face or punched, but I felt something.
“Now, when I saw (the replay), it’s very disgusting. It’s a weird moment. I saw the moment when Romero kissed him after beating him, as well. I was like, ‘This is the weirdest moment that I have ever seen.’ But this beats that moment.
“I don’t know why Rockhold did that. Maybe he did that because he was so frustrated, maybe angry because he was losing the fight. But I took a very long shower after the fight.”
Regardless of the fight-ending sequence, Costa walked away with a unanimous decision win. It was his first victory in three years, though only his third fight in that period of time. The Brazilian entered UFC 278 on the heels of back-to-back losses to champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori.
Costa revealed in the lead-up to the fight that he was on the final bout of his UFC deal. He’s unsure where he’ll go next, but is keen on re-signing with the UFC. Dana White, the UFC’s president, also voiced his interest in getting Costa a new contract.
