Before his UFC 302 co-main appearance, BKFC elicited a rant from outspoken UFC middleweight Sean Strickland. ‘Tarzan’ edged past Paulo Costa in a numbers game with a split decision win. He and Costa were on the debutante roster trying out the “3Eight” and “5Eight” UFC Official gloves. Moreover, BKFC fighter Eddie Alvarez took offense to the statement and fired back.
The ex-UFC lightweight champion responded to Sean Strickland’s criticism stiffly and severely. He didn’t codify the claims of earning less. Alvarez also had additional swipes up his sleeve. With no evident grappling and spamming his usual defensive push and jabs, Strickland outlasted Paulo Costa all the way to a split scoring. Given that he promised a war on the Brazillian, Alvarez takes his shot.
He’s trying to bring a fight on, and the guy he’s fighting [Costa]…you need a dance partner…this guy…just running…Paulo thought he needed to run if the guy moved forward. No, like… put your foot down. And that’s where the fight happens. I mean he was fighting a guy who didn’t wanna fight…The whole thing sucked, the fight sucked, the crowd sucked, it kind of sucked that that was the co-main event.
Eddie Alvarez to The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani (for MMAFighting on SBN)
Alvarez made his BKFC debut against Chad Mendes last April, taking home a decision win. He had a brief but unfruitful stint with ONE Championship before that. Just under a year, though, the 40-year-old would suffer another violent stoppage to brand face Mike Perry. However, ‘The Underground King’ knows how to bear it all on the line as a bare-knuckle phenom.
Hence, Alvarez jibed Costa for not holding his own in the fight. Alongside, the Xtreme Couture MMA striker was also subject to criticism due to excessive jab spamming. The fight did not live up to the expectations of many fans. Even Strickland acknowledged it after the fight. However, Strickland pinned a part of it on Costa.
Sean Strickland slams Paulo Costa for “awkward” UFC 302 clash
Sean Strickland was the first to readily admit that his split-decision win over Paulo Costa wasn’t particularly entertaining. Even before leaving Newark, he said so during his octagon interview. Strickland outpointed Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302 en route to a split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46).
Paulo Costa, Sean Strickland (Source: Instagram)However, the ex-middleweight titleholder was critical of the way things played out in his supposed “war.” He believed all the awkwardness came down to Costa’s reverence for his similar mindset and unhinged fighting capabilities.
It was awkward, man. It was like a weird fight…There was a moment where I stopped being in my fight stance and I just started walking forward like, ‘What the fu*k are we doing here?’…He did land calf kicks, but for every one calf kick he landed, I landed like five teeps, I don’t know what was going on with Costa. I think Costa maybe just wanted to be friends. I don’t know.
Sean Strickland during UFC 302 post-fight conference interviews
Instead of some arousing highlight reel, Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) is prone to be more sure-footed. The 33-year-old went boxing-heavy. Instead of shelling himself off, he thumped around Costa with pushes and jabs, separating with mid-range kicks. However, he had expected the opponent to invade and strike back.
While he can’t pinpoint exactly what happened, ‘Tarzan’ thinks the personal reverence held back Costa to put out his “Fight of the Night” performances. Costa has not been the same since he lost the middleweight title bout in 2020. Something is definitely not working for the Brazilian fighter. As such, Costa will have to figure things out before making an octagon return.
