Sean Strickland plans to drag Paulo Costa to deep waters at UFC 302.
Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) faces Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
The former middleweight champion got a taste of a bloody battle when he lost his title to Dricus Du Plessis via split decision at UFC 297. He predicts another five-round war when he faces Brazilian powerhouse Costa.
“UFC 302, man, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Strickland said during the UFC 302 countdown. “I think me and Costa are going to get into deep water. It will be a 25 minute war.
“I think we’ll both be looking at each other in that third, fourth round, thinking, ‘Fuck, we’ve got one more round.’ But mentally, as always, I am ready to die for what I want and I think I will destroy it.”
Strickland coach Eric Nicksick likes the match to go five rounds, where he expects his star student to stand out.
“I think the five rounds definitely favor us,” said Nicksick Send radio. “And that’s the mentality now, is to try to drag this guy into deep water. Hopefully we can get him out of there in the fourth or fifth round.
“But this guy is tough. He is brave. It is durable. But it will be up to us to continue chipping away at it, chipping away at it. That is the goal. That is the goal. I’m not trying to make a prediction, I’m just saying what we expect from our athlete and that’s it.”
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 302.
