Did Costa appear? pic.twitter.com/ImSS63WcGj
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
May 15, 2024
Several UFC fighters have recently expressed concerns about “announced” matchups.
In April, the promotion announced at a post-fight press conference for UFC 300 that the show, to be held on June 1st in Newark, New Jersey, would be the centerpiece of middleweight Sean Strickland (28-6). It was announced that it would be a fifth round fight against Paulo Costa. (14-3).Article posted by Strickland Social media On Wednesday, he expressed concern that his fight at UFC 302 may be in jeopardy, or that there may not have been a deal at all.
former middleweight champion Said“Well, I–Costa, I hear you haven’t signed that contract yet, but let me tell you, I didn’t believe it. Like the coward you are. I didn’t expect you to act. I thought you would cheer up and flatten your stomach, but instead you act like your ovaries are busting.”
A hostile Strickland continued: “So I went to Google, I did the right thing, don’t doubt me, I went to Google and I noticed something, hey hey.” he fought. later [Israel
Adesanya], it went downhill. You got out of that bad ending, dude. I don’t know what happened to that little fucking bean brain of yours. Need to find someone to talk to? Do you want someone to sit down and talk about your feelings? I think therapy is for weak men, but let me tell you something: Hey, you’re a weak man. If you give up and can’t make this happen, find someone to talk to. don’t let me down. Don’t let your fans down. Let the blood flow. ”
Costa is 1-2 since his loss to Adesanya, with his only win coming in a close decision over Luke Rockhold. Meanwhile, ‘Borrachinha’ has also gained notoriety for having multiple fights canceled against Jared Cannonier, Ikram Ariskerov and Khamzat Chimaev. In his most recent fight, the Brazilian suffered a decision loss to former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in February.
Shortly after Strickland’s video post appeared, Brazil’s Super Lutas interviewed Costa’s wife and manager Tamara Alves about the fight. She claimed that the middleweight pairing was signed by both fighters, although she pointed out that she had just received the contract.
“The contract arrived yesterday and was signed immediately,” Alves assured.
According to Alves, negotiations were a little more difficult than expected, but Costa and the UFC ultimately reached an agreement. She also briefly mentioned that Costa’s weight limit is already approaching 186 pounds, suggesting that Costa was already preparing as if it were an official fight.
“As a coach, you might be able to get something better for your players in every match that is offered,” Alves said. “We had different negotiations for that match and as soon as we reached an agreement, the contract was sent and signed.”
The turmoil in the middleweight championship means there are plenty of future options in the division, although the newly minted Doricas du Plessis’ first official title defense has yet to be determined. Alves has an idea of how the title picture will play out with the promotion, similar to the 2012 UFC on Fox 4 fight between Mauricio Rua and Lyoto Machida in a 205-pound tilt. was. She believes the most impressive winner of the two major upcoming middleweight pairs will win the next gold medal.
“There are two options: the winner of Whittaker and Chimaev, or the winner of Costa vs. Strickland. I believe that the fighter who performs better will win the next title,” she concluded.
Strickland, a former belt holder, is looking to bounce back from a split decision loss to Doricus du Plessis at UFC 297. If that fight falls through, the promotion has already been presented with options to replace Cannonier. “Killa Gorilla,” who already has a split decision victory over Strickland in 2022, is currently scheduled to headline UFC Louisville vs. Nasoodin Imavov in June.
