Paulo Costa defeated Luke Rockhold in a gruelling co-main event!

Middleweight contender Paulo Costa defeated former champion Luke Rockhold in the co-main event at UFC 278. Photo: Viaplay

In the UFC 278 co-main event, Paulo Costa and former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold clashed in a gruelling three round fight. In the end Costa stood as the winner with 30-27 on all three judge’s scorecards.

The first round started at a furious pace where Costa took his opponent down and landed heavy bodyshots. Rockhold got up and landed several slamming body kicks. In the second round the pace and the high altitude took its toll and Rockhold started to look tired, but still remained explosive.

In the third round Costa pressured, but his veteran opponent landed solid left hands. The fight eventually took to the ground in the last minutes with Rockhold rubbing his blood into Costa’s face.

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Tough loss for Luke Rockhold: “I gave it my all”

In the post-fight interview, the Brazilian seemed happy with his solid performance at UFC 278. Costa is now now has a record of 14-2 and is back in the win column after two straight wins.

“This fight was very good,” Costa told Joe Rogan. “His chin suprised me. He has a good chin.”

In the post-fight interview Luke Rockhold indicated that he will retire after the tough loss.

“I’ve been through so much the last few years,” Rockhold said. “Thank you, fighting. Thank you, UFC. Thank you. I fucking can’t do this shit any more. I gave it my all.”

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