Sean Strickland (28-6) seems to have a new fight on his hands. The growing middleweight superstar has agreed to a fight with Paulo Costa (14-3) on social media.
With the fight happening, there’s speculation that it’ll go down at UFC 302. With UFC 300 rapidly approaching and currently taking precedence in the MMA world, the fight will add plenty of intrigue once the card’s finished.
But there was an interesting stipulation that nearly caused it to fall out. Luckily, Dana White and company came up in time to make the fight happen. What happened that nearly caused Strickland to lose his fight?
How Sean Strickland Nearly Lost His Fight
However, the fight almost didn’t happen. That was because Sean Strickland was seeking a pay bump for the fight. Initially, Strickland was being paid $200,000 to show and another $200,000 to win.
But with the verbal agreements between both fighters in place, the fight is now being set for June 1st at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It’s expected that the fight will serve as the co-main event for the card.
Now That Strickland Has His Fight…
Sean Strickland has a chance to rebound from his tough loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. The split decision from that fight cost him the UFC Middleweight Championship, despite being named “Fight of the Night.” That was also after his electric win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.
The native of Corona, California, can take out his frustration on Costa, who’s dealing with a tough loss of his own. Losing to Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 via unanimous decision, the Brazilian fighter is also looking to rebound.
That will raise the stakes for Strickland in this fight. Costa will come out motivated and looking to get on the right track. After all, he’s lost three of his last four fights. For the Corona native, it’s an opportunity for him to step up to the challenge.
More must-reads: