"He broke my hand" - Paulo Costa says Luke Rockhold's "hard nose" probably injured his right hand

Paulo Costa (L) admitted that his opponent's nose may have caused him to break his hand at UFC 278[Credits: @borrachinhamma and @ufcrussia on Instagram]

Paulo Costa has revealed that he may have suffered a broken hand during his fight against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 this past weekend.

In an interview with The Schmo, Costa responded to a question about his bandaged hand, while suggesting that his opponent's nose was too hard.

"Luke Rockhold besides looks, so beautiful, he has a hard nose. I don't know why he has such a hard nose. Maybe he broke my hand. He's a very bad guy, but I'm feeling good. He put his nose in the right place, he fixed that so now he can smell very well. It was a horrible night for him. With a lot of blood goes from your nose, through you nose, it's a hard way to breathe. That's why he got a little bit tired, I think."

Watch Paulo Costa talk about his fight at UFC 278 below:

The contest garnered 'Fight of the Night' honors as well as respect from the entire MMA world. However, both men were extremely fatigued in their three-round war. Costa was made to work hard despite it seeming like Rockhold couldn't go on. However, he dug deep to work his way back into the fight but couldn't manage to overpower the Brazilian.

Paulo Costa taking Luke Rockhold to deep waters... Never seen a fighter put his hands on his knees like this during a Round. The altitude is insane. #UFC278 https://t.co/qqFYvbXqSF

Costa prevailed via unanimous decision, but the veteran American pushed the No. 6-ranked middleweight to the absolute limit, before announcing his retirement from the sport at 37. 'Borrachinha' returned to winning ways by beating Rockhold after his two-fight losing streak against the champion, Israel Adesanya, and Marvin Vettori.

Paulo Costa regrets not finishing Luke Rockhold earlier in fight at UFC 278

Paulo Costa was in command from the start, but Luke Rockhold kept coming back even in the final round. While speaking to Ag.Fight, Costa said that he could have finished the fight earlier, but his opponent was giving nothing away till the end. He said: (translated by Brazilian MMA legends)

"I thought he wouldn't last for three rounds. The fight was almost finished, I should've finished it a little earlier. But I thought I'd do it in the next round because he's already pretty hurt. I ended up not being able to do it in the second round either. In the third round I took his back, but he was still defending well, you know?"

Watch Paulo Costa's interview with Ag.Fight below:

Costa was stunned by the former champion's resilience and will to continue till the end of the fight. The American, returning after a lengthy layoff, looked rusty at the beginning, but was holding on towards the end despite the level of fatigue.