NEWARK, New Jersey – Sean Strickland entered the Prudential Center on Saturday to a walkout tune of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” then Paulo Costa went down for five rounds.
Fans present at UFC 302 cheered loudly for Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC), booed the performance that led to the unanimous decision victory (46-49, 50-45, 49-46) and then got back into the swing of things during his post-interview. fight.
Strickland’s style doesn’t always quench the thirst of those interested in fights and highlights, but it is largely frustrating and overwhelming for those he faces.
Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) found himself in the position of many of Strickland’s opponents, in retreat. Strickland marched forward with his Philadelphia guard as he jabbed, leg kicked and punched Costa.
Throughout the fight, Costa was unable to achieve any significant success, if any at all. Costa was knocked down in the first round and threw an impressive punch in round 3. In the fifth round, Strickland became furious in the final seconds of the fight, attacking Costa with kicks and punches.
Although one judge scored in Costa’s favor (to the audible surprise of those present), the other two went with Strickland – who was named the winner.
After the victory and the handshake with former President Donald Trump, who was present, Strickland asked for a title fight after being “a company man” and taking on the Costa fight.
With the victory, Strickland returns to the win column after losing the title to Dricus Du Plessis in January. He has won four of his five most recent fights, with victories over Nassourdine Imavov, Abus Magomedov and Israel Adesanya, as well as Costa.
With the loss, Costa falls to 1-4 in his last five games. Saturday’s fight was a rare turnaround for “Borrachinha,” who co-wrote UFC 298 in February in a loss to Robert Whittaker.
Updated UFC 302 results include:
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Sean Strickland defeated. Paulo Costa by split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46)
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Kevin Holland defeated. Michal Oleksiejczuk via technical submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:34
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Niko Price defeated. Alex Morono by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Randy Brown defeated. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Roman Kopylov defeated. César Almeida by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
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Jailton Almeida won. Alexandr Romanov via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 2:27
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Grant Dawson defeated. Joe Solecki by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
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Jake Matthews defeated. Phil Rowe by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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Bassil Hafez defeated. Mickey Gall by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Ailin Perez defeated. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
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André Lima defeated. Mitch Raposo via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 302.
