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Sean Strickland climbs back into win column with split decision over Paulo Costa – UFC 302 Highlights

Sean Strickland climbs back into the win column with split decision win over Paulo Costa - UFC 302 Highlights In the UFC 302 co-main event of the evening, former middleweight world champion Sean Strickland returned to the Octagon…

In the UFC 302 co-main event of the evening, former middleweight world champion Sean Strickland returned to the Octagon for the first time since surrendering the 185–crown to current titleholder Dricus Du Plessis.

Standing in his way of a return to the win column was division fan favorite and one-time title challenger Paulo Costa.

Costa immediately came out landing a handful of big leg kicks that had Strickland compromised early. With his calf already welting, ‘Tarzan’ switched stances and put on the pressure, forcing Costa on his backfoot for the entirety of the round.

Strickland punished Costa’s midsection with a slew of front kicks to the body, a trend the former champ continued in the second round. With 30 seconds left in the round, Strickland landed a stiff left jab against the fence that momentarily took Costa off his feet.

Strickland delivered perhaps his most dominant showing in the third round, but Costa slowly began to turn the tide in the fourth, standing his ground and refusing to allow ‘Tarzan’ to back him up.

With the fight potentially hanging in the balance, Strickland’s corner encouraged him to “let the dog out” in round five.

Despite the advice of his corner, Strickland stayed the course, moving forward and chipping away at his opponent with a bevy of jabs and front kicks. Halfway through the final round, Costa had more than doubled the output of his opponent. With Strickland not landing anything of significance to close the gap, Costa likely took the round, but was it enough to win the fight?

Official Result: Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa via split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46)

Check Out Highlights From Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 302:

"Saturday I am going to bleed for you guys in a war and be all bloody" – Sean Strickland #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/mgYYNm5Uyt

— AWUREDO (@AOUREDOO) June 2, 2024

Sean Strickland climbs back into win column with split decision over Paulo Costa – UFC 302 Highlights

In the UFC 302 co-main event of the evening, former middleweight world champion Sean Strickland returned to the Octagon…

Standing in his way of a return to the win column was division fan favorite and one-time title challenger Paulo Costa.

With the fight potentially hanging in the balance, Strickland’s corner encouraged him to “let the dog out” in round five.

Official Result: Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa via split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46)

Check Out Highlights From Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 302:

"Saturday I am going to bleed for you guys in a war and be all bloody" – Sean Strickland #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/mgYYNm5Uyt

— AWUREDO (@AOUREDOO) June 2, 2024

Paulo Costa believes a big win over Sean Strickland at UFC 302 could score him a title fight

It won’t be easy, but Paulo Costa believes a big win over Sean Strickland could put him at the…

It won’t be easy, but Paulo Costa believes a big win over Sean Strickland could put him at the front of the line in the middleweight division.

Stepping inside the Octagon for the third time in two years, ‘The Eraser’ will co-headline UFC 302 inside Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center when he goes toe-to-toe with former 185-pound titleholder Sean Strickland.

‘Tarzan’ goes into his bout as a greater-than-2-to-1 favorite, but if Costa can pull off the upset, he’ll catapult himself from the back end of the divisional rankings to the top. Even then, securing a shot at middleweight gold will be no easy task, particularly with the upcoming clash between ex-champion Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev on June 22.

Still, Costa remains optimistic that if he can put it on Strickland in The Garden State, he’ll make a strong case to face the winner of the yet-to-be-announced title tilt between reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.

“I think [because Strickland] already beat [Israel] Adesanya, if Adesanya beats Dricus [du Plessis], if Sean beats me, he’s going to be next,” Costa said ahead of his fight with Strickland. “But let’s see, we never know. I have a beef with Adesanya as well and against Chimaev, everything can happen. Let’s see Saturday.

“I think who delivers better on Saturday is going to step in front, it depends how the fight’s going to be. If I knock him out [with] great style Saturday, and the fight in [Saudi Arabia between Chimaev and Whittaker] is not so good, we can be in front of them. It depends how I’m going to perform.”

Paulo Costa suggests Robert Whittaker will have an advantage over Khamzat Chimaev

As for how Costa sees things playing out between Whittaker and Chimaev when the two titans descend upon the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ‘The Eraser’ suggested that ‘The Reaper’ will likely carry an advantage, having significantly more experience going five rounds than the undefeated Chechen monster.

“It’s a hard fight to predict,” Costa said of Whittaker vs. Chimaev. “From what I watched when [former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru] Usman fought Chimaev, I think with proper camp, I don’t know how many rounds, even three or five, Whittaker has some advantage against Chimaev.”

Whittaker, of course, is coming off a big unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February. That alone will make it pretty hard for Costa to leapfrog the Aussie in the title picture, but as they say in MMA, anything can happen.

Fans react after photo suggests Paulo Costa is battling staph infection ahead of UFC 302 fight

MMA fans have reacted a photo went viral suggesting that Paulo Costa has staph infection head of UFC 302….

MMA fans have reacted a photo went viral suggesting that Paulo Costa has staph infection head of UFC 302.

During Costa’s photo opp with the UFC, fans began to wonder if the Brazilian has staph on his foot as it appears he has a staph-looking mark on it.

After the photo went viral, fans began to react to it and also said staph must be mandatory to compete on the card, as fans also believe Islam Makhachev has staph.

Looks like staph infection was a requirement to fight on this card

— Jake (@og_jake1) May 30, 2024

“Looks like staph infection was a requirement to fight on this card,” a fan wrote.

“Nah that looks like some kind of blister, nothing serious probably,” another fan added.

“That’s not staph, that’s mat burn. Probably just doing lots of wrestling,” a fan wrote.

Although some fans think it is just mat burn, other fans are concerned the fight may not happen or will impact Costa’s weight cut.

That 'sorry guys I had to pullout of my match' video looking at him like the green goblin mask

— Twoface (@Twoface442314) May 30, 2024

“PLEASE GOD DONT CANCEL THIS FIGHT,” a fan added.

“Weight cuts for Islam and Paulo are going to be rough,” another fan wrote.

Whether or not this is actually staph infection is to be seen, but entering UFC 302, Paulo Costa is the betting underdog.

Paulo Costa vows to KO Sean Strickland

Paulo Costa is looking to get back into the win column at UFC 302.

Costa is coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker back in February and going into this bout, the Brazilian expects to KO Strickland.

“I want to fight him specifically because he’s a great fighter, he’s a great match, and he’s number one. This fight can lead me to the title again. I am more experienced now, I’ve reached the place that I wished before, as a man, and as an athlete. This is the time, this is it. At UFC 302, I will beat Sean by knockout,” Costa said on UFC countdown

If Costa does KO Strickland at UFC 302 he would be right near another crack at UFC gold.

Fans react after photo suggests Paulo Costa is battling staph infection ahead of UFC 302 fight

MMA fans have reacted a photo went viral suggesting that Paulo Costa has staph infection head of UFC 302….

MMA fans have reacted a photo went viral suggesting that Paulo Costa has staph infection head of UFC 302.

During Costa’s photo opp with the UFC, fans began to wonder if the Brazilian has staph on his foot as it appears he has a staph-looking mark on it.

After the photo went viral, fans began to react to it and also said staph must be mandatory to compete on the card, as fans also believe Islam Makhachev has staph.

Looks like staph infection was a requirement to fight on this card

— Jake (@og_jake1) May 30, 2024

“Looks like staph infection was a requirement to fight on this card,” a fan wrote.

“Nah that looks like some kind of blister, nothing serious probably,” another fan added.

“That’s not staph, that’s mat burn. Probably just doing lots of wrestling,” a fan wrote.

Although some fans think it is just mat burn, other fans are concerned the fight may not happen or will impact Costa’s weight cut.

That 'sorry guys I had to pullout of my match' video looking at him like the green goblin mask

— Twoface (@Twoface442314) May 30, 2024

“PLEASE GOD DONT CANCEL THIS FIGHT,” a fan added.

“Weight cuts for Islam and Paulo are going to be rough,” another fan wrote.

Whether or not this is actually staph infection is to be seen, but entering UFC 302, Paulo Costa is the betting underdog.

Paulo Costa vows to KO Sean Strickland

Paulo Costa is looking to get back into the win column at UFC 302.

Costa is coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker back in February and going into this bout, the Brazilian expects to KO Strickland.

If Costa does KO Strickland at UFC 302 he would be right near another crack at UFC gold.

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.