Tag: 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:

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:

Kevin Holland survives scare, lands gruesome arm break armbar win over Michal Oleksiejczuk – UFC 302 Highlights

Kevin Holland lands gruesome arm breaking armbar win over Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302Landing himself back in the winner’s enclosure following a frustrating decision defeat to Michael Venom Page back in March…

Kevin Holland lands gruesome arm breaking armbar win over Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302

Landing himself back in the winner’s enclosure following a frustrating decision defeat to Michael Venom Page back in March at UFC 299, Kevin Holland turned in an impressive submission win over Polish contender, Michal Oleksiejczuk with a first doung armbar — appearing to break the latter’s forearm in the process in their UFC 302 main card clash.

Holland, the current number fifteen ranked welterweight contender, made his return to the middleweight limit in a short-notice clash with the above-mentioned, Oleksiejczuk tonight at UFC 302, and rallied from some admitted adversity.

Holland UFC 302 2

Cracked with a big overhand strike, Holland immediately defended and worked his way to an armbar from his back, before then transitioning and flattening out of his back, remaining taut on the limb.

Holland UFC 302 4

However, gritty through until he was stopped from himself, Oleksiejczyk succumbed to a technical submission loss, appearing to fracture if not dislocate his forearm in the process.

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Below, catch the highlights from Kevin Holland’s gnarly win over Michal Oleksiejczuk

Kevin Holland survives scare, lands gruesome arm break armbar win over Michal Oleksiejczuk – UFC 302 Highlights

Kevin Holland lands gruesome arm breaking armbar win over Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302Landing himself back in the winner’s enclosure following a frustrating decision defeat to Michael Venom Page back in March…

Kevin Holland lands gruesome arm breaking armbar win over Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302

Landing himself back in the winner’s enclosure following a frustrating decision defeat to Michael Venom Page back in March at UFC 299, Kevin Holland turned in an impressive submission win over Polish contender, Michal Oleksiejczuk with a first doung armbar — appearing to break the latter’s forearm in the process in their UFC 302 main card clash.

Holland, the current number fifteen ranked welterweight contender, made his return to the middleweight limit in a short-notice clash with the above-mentioned, Oleksiejczuk tonight at UFC 302, and rallied from some admitted adversity.

Holland UFC 302 2

Cracked with a big overhand strike, Holland immediately defended and worked his way to an armbar from his back, before then transitioning and flattening out of his back, remaining taut on the limb.

Holland UFC 302 4

However, gritty through until he was stopped from himself, Oleksiejczyk succumbed to a technical submission loss, appearing to fracture if not dislocate his forearm in the process.

MixCollage 02 Jun 2024 04 39 AM 4801 1

Below, catch the highlights from Kevin Holland’s gnarly win over Michal Oleksiejczuk

Jailton Almeida makes quick work of Alexandr Romanov with slick first-round RNC – UFC 302 Highlights

Jailton Almeida makes quick work of Alexandr Romanov with first-round RNC - UFC 302 HighlightsJailton Almeida got back into the win column in a big way with a quick finish at UFC 302….

Jailton Almeida makes quick work of Alexandr Romanov with first-round RNC - UFC 302 Highlights

Jailton Almeida got back into the win column in a big way with a quick finish at UFC 302.

Three months removed from his brutal second-round knockout loss to Curtis Blaydes, ‘Malhadinho’ returned ready to make a statement against another submission specialist — Alexandr Romanov.

As expected, Almeida moved in quickly and took ‘King Kong’ down with ease. From there, it was just a matter of time. After an initial attempt to choke his opponent out, Almeida was able to sneak his arm under Romanov’s chin the second time around, forcing the Moldovan to tap out.

Jailton Almeida

Official Result: Jailton Almeida def. Alexandr Romanov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:27 of Round 1.

With the victory, Almeida moved to 7-1 inside the Octagon. During his post-fight interview, he called for a fight with former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane when the promotion returns to Paris in September.

Check Out Highlights From Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov 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