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Paulo Costa chases elusive fight with Khamzat Chimaev in UFC return: ‘He will bring back the ferocity’

Paulo Costa calls for fight with Khamzat Chimaev in UFC next to bring back the ferocity In the midst of a two-fight losing skid since the beginning of this year, recent UFC 302 co-headliner, Paulo…

In the midst of a two-fight losing skid since the beginning of this year, recent UFC 302 co-headliner, Paulo Costa has staked his claim for a rescheduled bout with Khamzat Chimaev, claiming a grudge fight with the Chechen contender would “bring back the ferocity” within him.

Costa, the current number eight ranked middleweight contender, co-headlined UFC 302 at the beginning of this month in New Jersey, suffering a split decision defeat against former divisional champion, Sean Strickland in Newark.

And earlier this year, Belo Horizonte striker, Costa suffered another unanimous judging loss to former middleweight kingpin, Robert Whittaker in the co-main event of UFC 298 in Anaheim.

Paulo Costa UFC 302 Joe Camporeale USA TODAY Sports

Himself forced from a UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia return this weekend against would-be common-foe, Whittaker, unbeaten Chechnya star, Chimaev was struck down with a bout of food poisoning, forcing him from the premiere event for the promotion in Riyadh.

Paulo Costa eyes Khamzat Chimaev grudge match next

Linked with a quickfire return off the back of his decision loss to the outspoken Strickland earlier this month in ‘The Garden State’, Costa has vowed to fire on all cylinders in his return – and likes a reworked matchup with the above-mentioned, Chimaev.

“I think he [Khamzat Chimaev[ is the perfect kind of fighter to bring back the Paulo of old,” Paulo Costa told MMA Fighting. “To bring back the [aggression], to bring back the ferocity. I’m [looking] for that.”

“You can see on my face, I can’t wait, bring back this becuase I need the redemption,” Paulo Costa explained. “And I need that fight, and Chimaev is the perfect guy. I think he looks a little crazy, so this ought to be a very fun fight.”

Initially scheduled to feature at UFC 294 back in October, Costa was forced from a fight with Chimaev after suffering from a bursitis infection in his elbow – which required multple surgical procedures to address.

Paulo Costa versus Khamzat Chimaev in the future: Who wins?

Israel Adesanya rips former rival Paulo Costa after UFC 302 loss to Sean Strickland: ‘He sucks’

Israel Adesanya figured Sean Strickland would beat Paulo Costa, so he wasn’t surprised to see him get the win…

Israel Adesanya figured Sean Strickland would beat Paulo Costa, so he wasn’t surprised to see him get the win at UFC 302.

Adesanya had fought both Strickland and Costa so he was familiar with both, and before the fight on his YouTube channel, he picked Strickland to win a decision.

After the result was read, Israel Adesanya gave his immediate reaction to it and said Paulo Costa sucks off the back foot so he wasn’t surprised that Sean Strickland was able to win a decision due to his pressure.

“Costa sucks off the back foot — he’s not really good off the back foot,” Israel Adesanya said on YouTube. “He’s doing better in this fight. Costa could set him up so bad here, man, because (Strickland is) so worried about that leg. It’s easier said than done, I’ll tell you that, but if you’ve worked on it, you know how to do it…”

“This is what I thought he would do,” Adesanya continued. “He’s walking him down. He’s possibly losing the rounds because he’s not really landing as much but he’s just like, ‘You know what? I’ll break him and eventually, I’ll just storm him.’ [Strickland] hammer fists your face, that’s how he throws his jab, he just throws a hammer fist.”

It was a good performance from Strickland to return to the win column after losing his middleweight title back in January to Dricus Du Plessis.

Israel Adesanya rips Paulo Costa after UFC 302

Following Sean Strickland getting the win at UFC 302, he called to fight for the belt next time out.

It’s expected that Israel Adesanya will face Dricus Du Plessis next and Strickland says he plans to wait out for a title shot.

“I’m going to wait,” Strickland said at the UFC 302 post-fight press conference. “I f*cking paid my f*cking dues. I paid my dues. I got f*cking robbed [at UFC 297] … we all know I got f*cking robbed, at least Dricus doesn’t back up. So I’m going to sit my f*cking ass in the gym and I’m going to be a team player and I’m going to f*cking wait, and I’m going to f*cking wait until they say, ‘Sean, go beat this man’…”

Israel Adesanya reveals he's getting ready for fighting return amid links to UFC 305 clash with Dricus du Plessis — Mandatory Credit: Jasmin Frank – USA TODAY Sports

“As long as it takes,” Strickland said when asked how long he’s willing to wait to fight for the title. “I want the gold. When you’re fighting these top-10 motherf*ckers, you’re only one slip and dodge away from being knocked out. I paid my penance, I did what we did, I went and fought Costa. I didn’t want to, I did it. Give me the f*cking title shot. I beat Izzy and that motherf*cker gets a title shot.”

Sean Strickland is currently the No. 1 contender at middleweight and is 29-6 as a pro.

Israel Adesanya rips former rival Paulo Costa after UFC 302 loss to Sean Strickland: ‘He sucks’

Israel Adesanya figured Sean Strickland would beat Paulo Costa, so he wasn’t surprised to see him get the win…

Israel Adesanya figured Sean Strickland would beat Paulo Costa, so he wasn’t surprised to see him get the win at UFC 302.

Adesanya had fought both Strickland and Costa so he was familiar with both, and before the fight on his YouTube channel, he picked Strickland to win a decision.

It was a good performance from Strickland to return to the win column after losing his middleweight title back in January to Dricus Du Plessis.

Israel Adesanya rips Paulo Costa after UFC 302

Following Sean Strickland getting the win at UFC 302, he called to fight for the belt next time out.

It’s expected that Israel Adesanya will face Dricus Du Plessis next and Strickland says he plans to wait out for a title shot.

Sean Strickland is currently the No. 1 contender at middleweight and is 29-6 as a pro.

Paulo Costa vows to ‘Take heads off’ in next fight after loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 302: ‘I have the power’

Paulo Costa plans to change the way he fights following his UFC 302 loss to Sean Strickland. Costa was…

Paulo Costa plans to change the way he fights following his UFC 302 loss to Sean Strickland.

Costa was coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker back in February and was making a rather quick turnaround in his standards to face Strickland in a five-round co-main event on Saturday at UFC 302. Early on Paulo Costa was doing well, but as the fight played out, Strickland began to take over.

When the final bell rang, it was Sean Strickland who edged out the decision. After dropping back-to-back competitive decisions, Costa vows to drop his point-fighting style and once again go for the knockouts.

I will give a fuck for points, it’s not my business pic.twitter.com/iqYQq3oXLj

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) June 2, 2024

“Yeah, Sean won. I didn’t perform very well,” Paulo Costa said (via MMAMania). “I think he didn’t either, but at least he did enough to win, right? This is two losses in a row in three fights, three former champs — Luke Rockhold, Whittaker, and Sean. I won one and lost two.”

“But let me tell you something, I agree with Dana [White] and Joe Rogan, and I will do that — I will bring back the Paulo that takes heads off, to finish the fight. Sorry. I’m not that kind of counter guy. I do better moving forward and trying to finish and look for heads. Sean is so awkward, so different kind of fighter to fight against, it’s difficult. He was teeping me, keep pushing me, keeping me far from him, because he knows the power that I have. And I have the power, so I need to deliver that — and I will do that,” Paulo Costa added.

“I won’t give a f—,” Costa declared. “F— points, or conserving energy, or f— anything about that. I will come to take heads off. And this is who I am, this is the kind of fighter I am, and the fighter who people expect that I perform. So I will do that. F— points, I’ve enough of this. Even the first round that I was 100 percent sure that I won, some people thought I lost. F— them. I will come to take heads off. That’s it. Who I am.”

Costa hasn’t recorded a knockout win since 2018 when he TKO’d Uriah Hall.

Dana White Rips Judge Who Scored UFC 302 Fight For Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa suffered a split decision loss to Sean Strickland, however, the fight was rather clear for the former champ and UFC CEO Dana White didn’t agree with the split decision result.

After the event, White took time to blast the judge who scored it for Costa and said he shouldn’t judge another big fight agian.

“It wasn’t weird – it was f*cking nuts is what it was,” White said. “It’s insane. That guy should never (judge) a big fight again. They should kick him back down to the minor leagues and let him work on his judging. It’s unbelievable. How anybody who isn’t an absolute f*cking lunatic could call that fight a split decision … I don’t even know what to say about that. It’s insane. That guy shouldn’t be judging big fights.”

With the loss at UFC 302, Costa is now 14-4 and is 1-4 in his last five fights.

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Dana White shreds ‘lunatic’ judge who scored Strickland vs. Costa a split decision at UFC 302

Dana White went scorched earth on MMA judge Dave Tirelli following a couple of highly questionable scorecards on Saturday…

Dana White went scorched earth on MMA judge Dave Tirelli following a couple of highly questionable scorecards on Saturday night.

Luckily, there were no blatant robberies in The Garden State as the promotion served up its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 302. However, there was some pretty egregious scoring and it all seemed to come from one man. Tirelli first drew the ire of the broadcast team and fight fans watching at home when he scored an early bout between Andre Lima and Mitch Raposo in favor of the latter.

The two other judges, Adrian Castro and Eric Colon, both scored the contest 30-27 in favor of Lima. Fans on the global scoring app Verdict agreed with Castro and Colon considering Lima outstruck Raposo in all three rounds.

Unfortunately, Tirelli was far from done. In the co-main event of the evening, Sean Strickland delivered another dominant performance, putting Paulo Costa on his back foot for pretty much the entirety of their 25-minute affair and outstriking ‘The Eraser’ in four of the five rounds.

Chris Lee and Sal D’Amato favored Strickland on their scorecards, giving him a very reasonable 50-45 and 49-46. Tirelli, on the other hand, inexplicably scored it 49-46 in favor of Costa.

Fans on Verdict gave Strickland every round.

Dana White believes dave tirelli should be kicked ‘back down to the minor leagues’

Asked about the scoring gaffes during the post-fight press conference, Dana White didn’t hold back in his assessment of Dave Tirelli’s judging.

“That wasn’t weird, it was f*cking nuts is what it was,” White said reacting to Tirelli’s scorecard in the Strickland vs. Costa fight. “It’s insane. That guy should never [judge] another big fight again. They should kick him back down to the minor leagues and let him work on his judging. It’s unbelievable.”

“How anybody who isn’t an absolute f*cking lunatic could call that fight a split decision. I don’t even know what to say about that. It’s insane. That guy shouldn’t be judging big fights” (h/t MMA Fighting).

As for the fight itself, White was hoping for something a bit more exciting but commended Strickland’s ability to shut down Costa throughout the fight.

“It’s not the fight I expected,” White said of the matchup. “Every time you see Paulo Costa in a fight, it’s a war. He usually goes to war, but you could tell tonight, he couldn’t get off. Brilliant kicking the leg the way he did. Strickland is tough as hell. He was eating those leg kicks all night. I’m wondering how he’s walking, because I haven’t heard anything but [Costa] did some big damage to that front leg.

“I thought [Strickland] fought a beautiful, perfect fight. He’s a very awkward guy to fight and how he throws those teep kicks and his hands are so good, he’s very elusive and [has] a beautiful jab, and he basically picked Costa apart and shut him down.”