After his decision victory at UFC 302, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland revealed that he wants Paulo Costa to join his team in Las Vegas.
Whilst Sean Strickland remains an enigma in the world of combat sports, if there is one thing that the former UFC middleweight champion appreciates above all else, it’s having the grit and determination to be able to stand toe-to-toe with him in the octagon.
Sean Strickland wants to recruit Paulo Costa to his gym after UFC 302 win
After a back-and-forth war across five punishing rounds, Sean Strickland was able to bounce back into the win column in a big way as he earned a split-decision victory over Paulo Costa last night in Newark, New Jersey.
Whilst the bout was somewhat soured by a ridiculous scorecard from one judge, which even prompted Dana White to demand the judge be kicked ‘back down to the minor leagues’, the fight was still an impressive display of heart and determination on both sides.
Speaking via the Full Send MMA YouTube channel, Sean Strickland explained how it was tough to bring the same level of hostility to the fight with Paulo Costa as his other bouts in the UFC.
“I actually really like him, and it was kind of hard to bring the animosity to fight him just because I f***** like him so much.
“I wanted to fight Costa for a while, I like Costa, we were supposed to fight way back when and I’m happy we got to handle it.”
In fact, Strickland is so much of a fan of Paulo Costa’s attitude, fight style, and personality that he even stated that he’d like to recruit the Brazilian brawler into his team at Xtreme Couture.
“Funny enough, before the fight he was [training] in Vegas so I’m sure he’ll be a teammate soon… No doubt [I’d invite him to train at Xtreme Couture], it would be a great asset to our team.
“He’s a great guy and a great asset,” explained Strickland, before addressing Costa directly: “Our home is your home.”
Despite wanting to train more extensively with Costa as the brash American eyes another shot at the UFC middleweight title, he also noted that there are levels between himself and the Brazilian powerhouse.
“You never know how good somebody is until they fight somebody good, so when you see him fight Whittaker or when you see him fighting Luke Rockhold, and you see him putting it on these guys – well, they’re not me.”
With the victory at UFC 302, Sean Strickland moves to 29-6 as a professional, whilst Costa drops to 14-4 with back-to-back losses in 2024.
‘Tarzan’ willing to sit out and wait for UFC title shot
With champion Dricus du Plessis expected to take on Israel Adesanya later this year, Sean Strickland believes that he’s in prime position to get that next opportunity to claim undisputed glory.
At the UFC 302 post-fight press conference, Strickland explained that he’d be willing to sit out on the sidelines and wait for a title shot for “as long as it takes.”
“I want the gold dude, when you are fighting these top 10 mother**** you’re only one slip and doge away from being knocked out.
“I paid my pennants, I did what we did, I fought Costa [when] I didn’t want to, [but] I did it – give me the f**** title shot. I beat Izzy and that motherf**** gets a title shot.”
Whilst the aforementioned title fight between the South African champion and Adesanya has not yet been made official by the UFC, there is a certain expectation that that fight will headline UFC 305 in Perth, Australia in August.