Midnight Mania! Costa Calls Out … Nick Diaz?!?

Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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Paulo Costa has just a single fight left o…


MMA: AUG 20 UFC 278
Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Paulo Costa has just a single fight left on his UFC contract. He’s made his frustrations with his salary clear, as well as his intentions of moving on towards greener pastures following that final fight. Despite being just a single match away from freedom, Costa remains picky for his final match up.

Five rounds with Robert Whittaker, for example? Costa passed on that one.

Recently, top-ranked Middleweight contender Sean Strickland called out “Borrachinha,” and in the words of Strickland, “It makes f—king sense!” Indeed, that seems like a very reasonable and perhaps stylistically favorable match up for Costa, but the Brazilian doesn’t seem thrilled. He responded on Twitter, focusing more on Strickland’s dated wine joke than the actual prospect of fighting “Tarzan.”

“Strickland deep, deep, deep down in his heart is a nice guy,” Costa wrote on Monday. “I just think one of his many problems is because he’s been shot several times in the head, and now he’s kind of living on a permanent concussion, making jokes so old he couldn’t think of something updated.”

Instead, Costa has his own ideas. Rather than square off with a fellow Top 10 Middleweight, Costa reposted a fan made UFC 289 poster that pitted him against Nick Diaz, the 39-year-old Welterweight who technically hasn’t won a fight since 2011.

The former Strikeforce champion is clearly not at the height of his powers anymore, and he shouldn’t be in the cage with Costa. However, he’s been busy calling out Israel Adesanya, so in the unlikely event that the contract does come his way, don’t be surprised if the Stockton slugger puts pen to paper.

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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.