Former middleweight champion Sean Strickland has made a huge claim regarding his supposed upcoming fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
At the UFC 300 post-fight press conference earlier last month, UFC CEO, Dana White, announced that Sean Strickland would take on Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302, scheduled for five rounds.
UFC 302 takes place on June 1st from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in the main event.
Sean Strickland claims Paulo Costa hasn’t signed the contract
The blockbuster event may end up taking a huge hit, though, as Strickland has claimed that the Brazilian still hasn’t signed the contract for their fight.
“God damn, Costa. I’ve heard you have yet to sign that contract, and I’ll tell you what man, I didn’t f****** believe it.” Strickland said in a video on his Instagram.
This wouldn’t be the first time a ‘Borrachinha’ fight was announced before contracts had been signed, as in July last year, it was announced he would fight Ikram Aliskerov, however, contracts hadn’t been signed and the fight was scrapped.
Similarly, Costa’s last fight against Robert Whittaker happened months after it was supposed to, as contract issues once again caused a delay.
“I did not think you’d be that coward. I thought you would man up, and sack up but instead, you’re acting like you’ve got f****** ovaries.
“I went on Google and did the right thing and gave you the benefit of the doubt and I noticed something man. After you fought (Israel Adesanya) you went downhill. I don’t know what happened in that little pea brain you have.” Strickland continued.
The former champion went on to urge Costa to sign the contract and give fans the fight they’ve been asking for.
“You’re being a weak man if you can’t sack up and make this s*** happen, we’ll get someone for you to talk to, don’t disappoint me, don’t disappoint the fans, let me make you bleed.” Strickland added.
Sean Strickland looking to reclaim the middleweight title
Before he was offered Paulo Costa, Strickland was campaigning heavily for a rematch against Dricus Du Plessis.
The 33-year-old’s last fight came against ‘Stillknocks’ when he lost his 185lb title at UFC 297 in January. Following that fight, ‘Tarzan’ disputed the decision and still claims that he thinks he was robbed by the judges.
The Brazilian, Costa, on the other hand last fought at UFC 298 in February at UFC 298, against the aforementioned Robert Whittaker. Despite having some strong moments in the fight, Costa came up short against the former champion.
Du Plessis’ first title defense is still yet to be booked, with it rumored to be against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, in Perth.