"You don't go in and test a guy at six in the morning when he's cutting weight" - Dana White apologizes to Paulo Costa for unexpected USADA test ahead of UFC 278

The lead-up to Paulo Costa's middleweight bout against Luke Rockhold was anything but ideal. The inconvenience caused to him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency testing him at an unconventional time was brought up with Dana White recently.

White was asked about the issue during his appearance at the UFC 278 post-fight press conference and he responded:

"Listen, they don't know about fighting the way the people who know about fighting know about fighting. You don't go in and test a guy at six in the morning when he's cutting weight. The result's going to be the same a few hours later, you wait. And I apologized to him on stage when he came out and that won't happen to another fighter again."

Catch Dana White's complete presser appearance below:

Earlier this week, Costa showed up to the weigh-ins and flipped off the USADA after making weight.

'Borrachinha' then revealed in a Twitter post the cause of his frustration. He revealed that USADA showed up to his bedroom in the early hours of the day and tested him while he was cutting weight.

"Fuck the the boss on Usada who sent their agents this morning at my sleep room 6 am to take my blood out!!! I was cutting weight very dehydrated and they wants took my blood ! F*ck those guys!!! I never been caught by usada test I don’t need this f*ck shit"

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Paulo Costa wins bloody battle against Luke Rockhold

Neither the USADA nor the weight cut could stop Paulo Costa from winning the co-main event at UFC 278 against an aging Luke Rockhold.

The returning Rockhold could not maintain his energy levels for the duration of the three rounds and seemed exhausted at the end of the first round. Nevertheless, he persevered and held his own as he traded blows for blows in a bloody encounter with his younger opponent.

The fight featured everything from low blows to high kicks and even a stoppage by infuriated referee Mike Beltran. Although Paulo Costa secured victory by unanimous decision, it was by no means a one-sided performance. Rockhold gave his all in the octagon in what could have been his last fight.

The fight won Fight of the Night and 'Borrachinha' successfully halted the two-fight skid he was on. The Brazilian now finds himself out of contract and it remains to be seen if he and the UFC reach an agreement towards an extension.