Sean Strickland sounds off on Paulo Costa ahead of UFC 302: ‘You better hope that God’s in your favor’

Sean Strickland sounded off on Paulo Costa ahead of their fight on Saturday night. Nearly five months after surrendering…

Sean Strickland sounded off on Paulo Costa ahead of their fight on Saturday night.

Nearly five months after surrendering the middleweight world title to reigning champ Dricus Du Plessis, Strickland returns to the Octagon for a high-stakes scrap with the secret juice-chugging contender at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.

Ahead of their highly anticipated co-main event, Strickland and Costa traded verbal jabs on stage inside the Prudential Center during the UFC 302 pre-fight press event. As expected, ‘Tarzan’ delivered an expletive-filled rant directed at his opponent that got fans in The Garden State riled up and ready to see the blood fly.

“I don’t know how much f*cking secret juice Paulo has, but the only shot you’ve got, you better hope to get f*cking lucky,” Strickland said. “You better hope that God’s in your favor because I’m gonna f*cking beat your d*ck into the f*cking dirt, but don’t worry. I ain’t gonna f*ck you like Izzy did.”

Sean Strickland is the odds-on favorite to leave with a win at UFC 302

After delivering a career-defining performance against Israel Adesanya last September to claim the 185-pound crown, Strickland’s title reign came to a crashing halt at the beginning of the new year. With a win over Paulo Costa, ‘Tarzan’ could very well earn himself an opportunity to reclaim the middleweight strap, as soon as Dricus Du Plessis settles some outstanding business with ‘The Last Stylebender.’

Costa, on the other hand, is just hoping to keep his spot in the top 10 after coming up short against Robert Whittaker earlier this year.

‘The Eraser’ last fought his way to the winner’s circle with a unanimous decision victory over Luke Rockhold in August 2022. However, if you want to check out Costa’s last win over another active UFC fighter, you’ll be shocked to find that such a thing doesn’t exist. All six of his wins inside the Octagon have come against opponents who are no longer with the organization.

He’ll look to change that on June 1, but the sportsbooks are certainly not on his side. Currently, DraftKings has Strickland favored at greater-than-2-to-1 odds while Costa is sitting as a +210 underdog — meaning a $100 bet on Costa could net you $210, should he score the upset.

‘You’re Going To Sleep, Motherf—ker’

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier are ready to go to war.
UFC 302 is nearly upon us. In the main event, the Lightweight champion, Makhachev, can tie the divisional title …

UFC 302 Press Conference — Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier are ready to go to war.

UFC 302 is nearly upon us. In the main event, the Lightweight champion, Makhachev, can tie the divisional title defense record at three with a win over Poirier this weekend (Sat., June 1, 2024).

In his third attempt at holding undisputed gold, Poirier is a live dog in the betting odds. The fight is largely perceived as “The Diamond’s” last chance to hold a world title and he’s treating it as such with full confidence that he’ll come through. The pair met on stage for their first staredown at the pre-fight press conference today (Thurs., May 30, 2024). Exchanging words, the tension grew thicker than many may have expected.

“I’m gonna knock your ass out, brother,” Poirier said. “Sleep. I’m gonna sleep stop you. You’re gonna be diving for my legs. You’re gonna be layin’ and prayin’. You’re going to sleep, motherf—ker.”

“Don’t say motherf—ker,” Makhachev replied.

Poirier repeated it before both started getting held back. “I have respect for you, brother,” Poirier then said.

In 26 fights, the 32-year-old Makhachev has only lost once when he suffered a first round knockout to Adriano Martins in his second UFC appearance in October 2015. He’s been flawless ever since, winning 13 straight.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 302 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Daniel Cormier is not thrilled with Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque booking: ‘This is a much more dangerous fight’

Daniel Cormier is not thrilled with news of Nick Diaz’s return. Earlier this week, UFC CEO Dana White shocked…

Daniel Cormier is not thrilled with news of Nick Diaz’s return.

Earlier this week, UFC CEO Dana White shocked everyone when he revealed that the Stockton, California native would step back inside the Octagon for the first time since a 2021 scrap with ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler. Diaz is set to square off with No. 14 ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque on August 3 when the promotion delivers a star-studded Fight Night card in Abu Dhabi.

Sharing his thoughts on the announcement with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Cormier admitted to being initially excited by the news. After all, it’s not often that you get to see Nick Diaz strap on the four-ounce gloves.

“I was very shocked,” Cormier said. “After watching Nick Diaz compete the last time, I was like, ‘Okay, he’s done.’ But when I heard the news, I was excited! I got so excited because it’s like how often do we get an opportunity to see a guy that meant so much to us? I watched him in Strikeforce, I do all that.”

However, Cormier’s excitement quickly turned to worry after he realized who Diaz would be fighting.

“Now, the matchup, that’s a little worrisome for me because Robbie Lawler seemed to be at the same stage in his career as him. Vicente Luque is not there. This is a much more dangerous fight for Nick Diaz. I just hope that he shows a better form this time. Honestly, man, excitement because I get to see a guy that I’ve watched for a long time. Confusion in terms of who the matchup is. Tony Ferguson’s fighting on the card, too. Put them together. That makes more sense to me.”

Nick Diaz seeks his first win in more than a dozen years

After building an impressive 11-fight win streak, Diaz lost three straight between 2012 and 2015, coming up short against Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva, though his fight against ‘The Spider’ was later overturned to a no contest after Silva tested positive for anabolic steroids.

Fans wouldn’t see Diaz return until eight years later when he booked a fight with UFC Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. As excited as fans were to see the former Strikeforce titleholder back, his performance left a lot to be desired. After taking a beating in the first two rounds, Diaz threw in the towel 44 seconds into the third.

He’ll face an even tougher test this time out when he squares off with a top-15 contender who carries with him 19 career finishes against 22 total wins.

Dustin Poirier vows to ‘Sleep’ Islam Makhachev during heated UFC 302 presser: ‘Listen to your coaches and box with me’

Appearing at tonight’s official pre-fight press conference ahead of UFC 302, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier most definitely…

Appearing at tonight’s official pre-fight press conference ahead of UFC 302, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier most definitely entered with a chip on his shoulder before his fight with Islam Makhachev, vowing to “sleep” the Russian in their championship clash this weekend.

Poirier, a former interim lightweight gold holder and the current number four ranked divisional contender, returns this weekend at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, attempting to land the undisputed lightweight crown at the third time of trying in a showdown with Makhachev.

Landing an impressive knockout win over Benoit Saint Denis back in March at UFC 299, Dustin Poirier vowed to “sleep” Makhachev this weekend in Newark, encouraging the Russian to believe the apparent hype regarding his striking prowess and throw down with him.

Himself sidelined since October of last year, Makhachev most recently turned in his own spectacular win at UFC 294 against former champion, Alexander Volkanovski, finishing the Australian with a blistering opening round high-kick knockout.

And sharing the stage with middleweight talents, Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa – who take co-main event honors in a five round clash in New Jersey, Poirier and Makhachev who have engaged in a rather heated pre-fight back-and-forth, immediately exchanged words during respective questioning.

Urging the American Kickboxing Academy staple to stand and trade with him if he is under the impression he can hang with him on the feet, with Makhachev claiming he would either knock him out, or either put him to sleep via submission.

Dustin Poirier, Islam Makhachev separated during heated UFC 302 presser

Accepting that the pairing would likely fail to meet the 25 minute limit this weekend in their UFC 302 headliner, Poirier held a hugely intense face-off with Makhachev during their staredown, with the duo exchanging verbals, and appearing to almost get physical at one point.

This face off between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier went long and oh my goodness it was incredible. pic.twitter.com/ESIgmOxqUd

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 30, 2024

Appearing to take umbrage with use of expletives from Poirier during their staredown, Makhachev closed the distance on the Lafayette striker, urging him from refrain from swearing, with Poirier doubling down – resulting in the pair being corralled by Octagon officials.

MAKHACHEV vs POIRIER! #UFC302 is LIVE SATURDAY on @ESPNPlus PPV! pic.twitter.com/GJE5UhHxlP

— danawhite (@danawhite) May 30, 2024

Who wins this weekend at UFC 302: Islam Makhachev or Dustin Poirier?

UFC 302 Staredowns!!!

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

This weekend (Sat., June 1, 2024) at UFC 302, the Lightweight title is on the line in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center. Headlining the event will be the reignin…

This weekend (Sat., June 1, 2024) at UFC 302, the Lightweight title is on the line in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center. Headlining the event will be the reigning champion, Islam Makhachev, who seeks redemption in his record-tying third title defense against the perennial Lightweight elite and No. 4-ranked contender, Dustin Poirier. The co-main event will see top Middleweight contenders collide as the former champion, Sean Strickland, takes on Brazil’s Paulo Costa. A win for either would get them back in the win column after decision losses at the start of the year to Dricus du Plessis and Robert Whittaker, respectively.

The fighters atop the billing squared off for their first staredowns at the pre-fight press conference today (Thurs., May 30, 2024).

Strickland vs. Costapic.twitter.com/Yu1EA0NtCf

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) May 30, 2024

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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