The middleweight clash between former champion Sean Strickland and former title challenger Paulo Costa served as the UFC 302 co-main event. Today we will discuss about Sean Strickland Wins An Oddly Scored Split: Decision vs Paolo Costa at UFC 302.
Sean Strickland Wins An Oddly Scored Split: Decision vs Paolo Costa at UFC 302
The win marks Strickland’s first fight since losing his belt to Dracula du Plessis by split decision at UFC 292.
The 33-year-old has put together one of the most interesting career stretches in the UFC at this point. Early attempts to climb the welterweight ladder were thwarted by Santiago Ponzinibbio and Kamaru Usman before he eventually moved up to 185 pounds.
That move led him to pull off a shocking upset of Israel Adesanya and add a UFC championship to his resume.
It is a feat he is hoping to repeat after losing by a narrow margin to du Plessis in his last Octagon match.
“I mean, obviously, I want title fights, but, at the end of the day, I’m a fighter. I’m a prizefighter. So, you give me the money, I fight, but that’s what I want. That’s how Needs to happen,” he said, per UFC.com’s Zack Packaleb.
There is some talk about a possible clash between du Plessis and Adesanya but nothing has been officially decided yet.
This is likely to create a situation where Strickland will have to wait his turn if he wants another shot at the strap. Given his tendency to keep a busy schedule, it’s possible we may see him in a title eliminator before that happens.
Dana White is upset with judge Dave Tirelli’s controversial scoring for Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
Former middleweight champion Strickland largely dominated ‘Borracinha’ during the co-main event of the pay-per-view. However, ‘Tarzan’ was given the win by split-decision rather than a unanimous victory. The only judge on the panel was Tirelli, who ruled the fight 46–49 in favor of Costa, while the other two officials scored the fight 50–45 and 49–46 for the American.
Given that Strickland outpointed Costa throughout the contest and even scored several knockdowns on the Brazilian, such an unbalanced scorecard in favor of ‘Borrachinha’ invited a range of criticism. White was upset with the dissenting judge’s scoring.
During the post-fight press conference, the UFC CEO called for Tirelli to be banned from participating in major mixed martial arts events in the future: Strickland improved his MMA record to 29-6 with his win over Costa. ‘Tarzan’ now wants to fight for the title in his next octagon match.
Since he lost the title to Draculas du Plessis in a controversial split decision, ‘Tarzan’ may get his wish. Furthermore, UFC 302 has become quite attractive for the promotion. According to White, the event broke arena records by grossing $7.25 million live with 17,834 fans in attendance.
Decision vs Paolo Costa at UFC 302
Sean Strickland defeated Paulo Costa by decision at UFC 302; Disclosure of judges’ scorecards. Shawn Strickland heads into UFC 302 with a split decision win over Paulo Costa in the co-main event from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Costa got early success with a leg kick.
Shawn Strickland heads into UFC 302 with a split decision win over Paulo Costa in the co-main event from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Costa got early success with a leg kick. He managed to bowl a few early balls into Strickland’s shin, which affected his opponent’s movement. This did not stop Strickland from maintaining his signature pressure.
That pressure really started to get to Costa in the second round. Costa had no answers and spent most of the round fighting on his back foot and returning to the cage. Strickland went hard for five minutes with one punch, sending his opponent falling to the mat.
The former champion continued to harass Costa with his jab. While Eraser was able to find some success with counters to the body, he struggled to connect with meaningful head strikes:
Sean Strickland Wins An Oddly Scored Split: Decision vs Paolo Costa at UFC 302
Others were impressed by Strickland’s effective pressing and unorthodox defense.
Strickland’s attack hit another gear with a final barrage of kicks and punches aimed at ending the fight in the final seconds of the fifth round. But overall, it was the kind of performance Strickland is known for.
