Sean Strickland got the win against Paulo Costa at UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier on Saturday, June 1. The pair squared off in the co-main event live on PPV from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The former middleweight champion of Anaheim, California defeated the No. 7-ranked contender of Brazil via split decision. After five rounds, one score was 49-46 in favor of Costa, while two other judges had 50-45 and 49-46 for Strickland.
With the victory, Sean Strickland improved to 29-6 and rebounded from the defeat against reigning 185-pound champion Dricus du Plessis in January. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, the 33-year-old No. 1-ranked contender said he wanted to reclaim the title.
Paulo Costa dropped to 14-4. The 33-year-old lost his second fight in a row.
“It was a boring fight [against Costa], sorry guys,” Strickland said. “That Brazilian goes backwards fast, he’s hard to catch. I’m not known for being athletic, but I tried. You guys saw, I wanted to do a little bit more, but I tried.”
“I thought we were going to have a war, I thought we were going to fight. I don’t know what happened to you Costa… He’s a man bro, he represents America, I respect you for that. But don’t back up next time, please.”
When asked what he wanted to do next, Strickland said: “I want to fight for the belt”.
“Hey, I was a company man, I fought a rank seventh guy. Give me it now. I did it for you guys. Give me that title shot.”
Get UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier full card results.
