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

Dana White shreds 'Lunatic' judge who scored Strickland vs. Costa a split decision at UFC 302Dana White went scorched earth on MMA judge Dave Tirelli following a couple of highly questionable scorecards on Saturday…

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 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.

Dana White

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.

Dana White

Fans on Verdict gave Strickland every round.

Dana White

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.”

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

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 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. 

Sean Strickland

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:

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

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 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. 

Sean Strickland

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:

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

Paulo Costa believes a big win over Sean Strickland at UFC 302 could score him a title fightIt won’t be easy, but Paulo Costa believes a big win over Sean Strickland could put him at the…

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 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.

Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa

‘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.

Whittaker vs. Chimaev

“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.

Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker

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

Fans speculate Paulo Costa is battling staph infection ahead of UFC 302 fight with Sean StricklandMMA fans have reacted a photo went viral suggesting that Paulo Costa has staph infection head of UFC 302….

Fans speculate Paulo Costa is battling staph infection ahead of UFC 302 fight with Sean Strickland

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,” a fan wrote.

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

Paulo Costa UFC 302 Presser MMA Junkie

“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.

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

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

MixCollage 30 May 2024 10 55 PM 3832

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

Fans speculate Paulo Costa is battling staph infection ahead of UFC 302 fight with Sean StricklandMMA fans have reacted a photo went viral suggesting that Paulo Costa has staph infection head of UFC 302….

Fans speculate Paulo Costa is battling staph infection ahead of UFC 302 fight with Sean Strickland

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,” a fan wrote.

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

Paulo Costa UFC 302 Presser MMA Junkie

“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.

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

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

MixCollage 30 May 2024 10 55 PM 3832

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.