Sean
Strickland has given his reason for seemingly turning down a
booking against Paulo
Costa.
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Costa recently revealed that Strickland had snubbed a proposed
matchup between the two for UFC 302
on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey.
Costa is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Robert
Whittaker at
UFC 298 in February, where the Brazilian put on a gritty
performance in his return to action after a year and a half.
“Borrachinha” was reportedly in talks about a potential clash with
Jared
Cannonier next before the
Ultimate Fighting Championship abruptly suggested the
Strickland booking. While Costa was even more excited about
fighting “Tarzan,” the former champ seemingly turned down the
offer.
“This is great stuff. UFC, suggest I fight [Jared] Cannonier. It’s
a nice fight and I love the idea to fight Cannonier and they
suggest that fight for June,” Costa said on The Coach and The Casual podcast
“But then, two days ago UFC come and say, ‘Paulo, you fight
Strickland on June 1.’ It’s a great fight, it’s a fun fight. You
know, even [more fun] than Cannonier, I think. Unfortunately, I
don’t know what happened. Strickland said no. Strickland, he
refused to fight me, unfortunately. That’s what the UFC told me,
you know. I just have this information from UFC. I think this
fight, it would be great. I would love to fight him.”
Not one to shy away from speaking his mind, Strickland responded
with a comment on Costa’s Instagram post sharing the interview. The
former champion alluded that he turned the booking down as the
price wasn’t right.
“I didn’t say no.. I said ‘how much,’” Strickland wrote.
Strickland was dethroned by Dricus Du
Plessis via split decision at
UFC 297 in January and has since been rallying for a rematch
against “Stillknocks.”