Although campaigning for an immediate rematch for his lost title, middleweight Sean Strickland now fights at UFC 302. He will face Paulo Costa as a stepping stone to title contention again. As such, ‘Tarzan’ labeled Costa as ‘basic’ ahead of their fight. The Brazilian fighter took offense to the criticism and has now fired back at Strickland.
If the #7 ranked middleweight overcomes top dog Sean Strickland, an argument remains valid for him to leapfrog his opponent in the title race. With motivation in mind, Costa wants to return to the win column triumphantly. He has now found more fuel after Strickland criticized his fighting style. The Brazilian fighter indicated Strickland had no right to call anyone else ‘basic.’
He’s basic fighter, you know… he’s very basic fighter…Just jab, and jab, and jab, and cross…I don’t think I see anything else from him. I have skills…I have weapons to show on Saturday…so this fight can finish in every single way. Like back spin kick, front head kick, hooks, …finish can be even on the ground.
Paulo Costa to ESPN MMA’s Andreas Hale
Costa is an explosive fighter compared to Strickland’s jab-heavy approach. Strickland employs an MMA-based Philly Shell technique to defend himself. Although uptight and over-the-shoulder, his fluidity brings a different kind of game. As a predominant anti-wrestler, he can recover from takedowns. As such, Strickland is an extremely skilled fighter.
Yet, Costa doesn’t rate him as much, even dousing that he can take him in a ground game. Despite respecting one another, Strickland and Costa appear to have no respect for one another’s skill set. Both fighters are dangerous in their own rights. Only time will tell who will emerge victorious at UFC 302.
Ex-title challenger picks underdog Paulo Costa for an upset win at UFC 302
Sean Strickland remains at the zenith of the 185-pound weight class. Even though ‘Tarzan’ lost his gold in his maiden defense, he’s just a step away from gunning for it again. The Xtreme Couture MMA striker poses hard challenges ahead of UFC 302. ‘Tarzan’ enters the scrap as the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings and a -238 betting favorite.
Athletic Paulo Costa trusted to shell out more stiff Sean Strickland at UFC 302 (Source: IMAGO/UFC.go.com)Yet, veteran Dan Hardy backs Paulo Costa to win this one. A +195 underdog (per DraftKings Sportsbook), the 33-year-old Brazilian decks at rank 7. Hardy veers to Costa’s kicking game and ‘The Eraser’ boasting durability in withstanding Strickland’s hits.
The thing with Paulo Costa, I don’t allow myself to credit him with that [high] level of fight IQ, [as] I feel like he’s effective because of his physicality and aggression… I don’t think we’re going to see a great deal of kicking from Strickland unless he’s attacking the lead leg but then because of the way that Strickland kicks, Costa can bowl him over aggression…his kicking game is going to cause problems.
Dan Hardy via his Official YT channel – UFC 302 breakdown| The Outlawed Picks Podcast | Episode #79
Hardy also admitted that he doesn’t think Strickland has the power to take out a giant like Costa. His only career KO/TKO loss came to arguably the best striker in the division, Israel Adesanya. Meanwhile, the Brazilian himself earned 12 of his 14 career victories by stoppage. 11 of those wins were sheer knockouts. As such, Hardy leans more toward Costa than Strickland.
