During UFC 300’s post-fight scrum, CEO and taskmaster Dana White announced Sean Strickland would take on Paulo Costa next. They will fight at UFC 302’s five-round co-main event in June. Oddsmakers and fans are split between Philly-shell fame ‘Tarzan’ and explosive hustler Costa. Now, Red Hawk Academy’s Tim Welch gives his two cents on the matter.
Sean Strickland remains a sure-footed boxer. He employs an MMA variation of “Philly Shell” — a non-standard defensive variant of crouch-and-roll boxing. The unhinged former champion is also an adherent lover of unprovoked violence. In light of his brazen tendencies, Welch weighs in on his capacity to go five rounds.
Strickland’s boxing style, …it is made for five rounds. The kid can fight…he talk sh*t on Jiu-Jitsu all the time. But, he’s very good at Jiu-Jitsu,…very good at wrestling. [He is] Very anti-wrestling…So when you take him down, keeping him down is a whole other story…really, really good at getting up, and when he’s on his feet, he stands really tall… flat-footed. He’s not bouncing around, he’s not super springy…so he’s got that pace that can fight for five rounds.
Tim Welch via his Official YouTube channel (@TimWelchMT)
Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) bagged his middleweight strap at UFC 293, going up against Israel Adesanya. 2023 was his year, going 3-0 on the calendar year. As such, he was also the Fighter of the Year for many publications. However, the flat-footed Strickland’s maiden defense against Dricus Du Plessis saw different. Optically, Du Plessis looked the better all-around connect, while he was billed a jab-merchant throughout.
In lieu of that, Paulo Costa is prone to fiery right crosses and explosive ranged attacks. Despite going 1-3 in his last four, his scraps remain quite the highlight for a hot moment. His battles with Luke Rockhold and Robert Whittaker are noteworthy affairs. However, Tim Welch says anti-wrestler Strickland has minimal bottom time with good recovery. With how good Strickland is on his feet, he might just win this.
Sean Strickland’s coach shares prediction for the UFC 302 co-main event
A little over two weeks before UFC 302, the middleweight scene has stirred up quite a bit. Unhinged former titleholder Sean Strickland facing impractical funnyman Paulo Costa is quite the conversation. At 14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC, ‘Borrachinha’ remains a top draw. His unchained carnage with Strickland is sure to be one for the ages.
Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa (Source: UFC.go.com/tmz.com)However, some favor the upright jabber in the discourse. Tim Welch recently weighed in that the sure-footed Strickland is anti-wrestling by nature. He is profoundly hard to perform clinches on; additionally, his boxing is quite the winning factor. In a few short words, coach Eric Nicksick gave his take on the fight.
I think Sean can get him out there by round four or round five, …I know they [UFC] were hoping for maybe Khamzat, but I don’t think Sean can travel to Saudi Arabia or something; I’m not 100% sure. But I know Khamzat’s name was possibly kicked around….going to be a big draw in Saudi, and that fight is more about location than it was about the opponent…
Eric Nicksick to James Lynch
Nicksick also mentioned that Strickland had options before Costa became the official opponent. The Xtreme Couture MMA brawler faced the possibility of fighting Khamzat Chimaev. But with how much of a draw ‘Borz’ is within Saudi Arabia, it was more of a locale thing than a rivalry thing. He now faces Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6. So, Costa was the only other top opponent available for a turnaround for Strickland.
