Paulo Costa believes he did enough to come out on top at UFC Vegas 41.
Costa took on Marvin Vettori in a light heavyweight slugfest last night that saw plenty of action throughout the five rounds of action.
The Brazilian was notably deducted a point in the second round for an eye poke as he disagreed with referee Jason Herzog who claimed he had warned him earlier.
In the end, the point deduction didn’t matter too much as all three judges still saw it 48-46 in favor of Vettori who came out on top with the unanimous decision victory.
Despite that, Costa still feels he won as he didn’t agree with the judges at all.
“Man, I really don’t understand why the judges saw that result. I really believe I won,” Paulo Costa said during the post-fight press conference. “And about the referee, very good referee. I don’t understand why he took one point from me in the very first stoppage [accidental eye poke].
“…I’m disappointed because I think I won but Marvin did a very good job.”
Costa: Vettori Surprised Me
Costa had one moment in the second round where a head kick seemed to have hurt Vettori.
However, while the kick definitely hurt Vettori, he was able to eat it, recover and be back in the fight in a matter of moments. That durability, which was evident throughout the fight, was something Costa could only praise him for.
“Yes, very close [to finishing him] but he’s durable,” Costa said of the head kick. “Marvin is very durable. He surprised me because he felt [my shots], but he could recover and come back to fight. And I could not finish him because he stepped back, he closed his guard very well, and he kept moving, so I didn’t find one shot to finish that fight in that moment.
“I could, I was very close but he came back. This is a good point for him.”
As for why he came in heavy for the contest that was supposed to be a middleweight fight? A bicep injury during camp meant he was unable to train for a couple of weeks.
You can watch the full press conference from Costa below:
