Henry Cejudo says Sean Strickland’s UFC 302 win over Paulo Costa was a ‘snoozefest’

Henry Cejudo did not enjoy watching Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] did not enjoy watching [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] at UFC 302.

Strickland defeated Costa by split decision in this past Saturday’s co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. – a scorecard which confused the likes of Dana White, who thought it should’ve been unanimous for Strickland. The UFC boss admitted it wasn’t the fight he expected.

Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) promised a war and put the blame on Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) for not engaging enough. Cejudo wanted to see more heat from the two.

“This fight disappointed a lot of people,” Cejudo said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “I wasn’t expecting that. They were just too friendly, man. It’s almost better to have a little bit of animosity. They were just trying to be homies, trying to be friends.

“There’s too much respect in there inside the cage, because nobody wanted to necessarily lose to each other because they’re both trolls, that the fight just ended up – the last 17 seconds of that fight is what gave the roar, but other than that, the fight was a snoozefest. I don’t know how else to say it.”

Cejudo’s co-host, Usman, gave Strickland and Costa the benefit of the doubt.

“I know Dana was upset with it, but at the same time, how can you be? Those rounds – Round 3, Rounds 1 through 4 – were relatively back-and-forth, kind of confusing,” Usman said. “You know, Sean was kind of throwing out more strikes, but Paulo Costa, when he stood his ground, would land strikes that seemed to be a little more effective. I don’t know. It was just a weird fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Video: Does Sean Strickland deserve a title shot after UFC 302? What’s next for Paulo Costa?

What’s next for Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa following UFC 302? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]’s split decision win over [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag].

The two middleweights clashed in the co-main event at this past Saturday’s UFC 302. It was a fairly uneventful fight that had Strickland winning by split decision. The result put Strickland back in the win column after his title loss in January, while Costa fell to 1-4 in his past five outings.

Should Strickland get the next title shot? Where does Costa go from here? MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King, Mike Bohn, and host Gorgeous George discuss.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/live/HlprD38OBpI

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Sean Strickland blames ‘awkward’ UFC 302 fight on Paulo Costa: ‘What the f*ck are we doing here?’

Sean Strickland wasn’t happy with the way thing played out in his win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] is the first to admit his decision win over [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] wasn’t a very entertaining fight.

The former UFC middleweight champion was critical of the way things played out in his co-main event bout at UFC 302 on Saturday. Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) was happy to get his hand raised and bounce back from his championship loss earlier this year, but was disappointed to not give fans a war. He believes it mainly came down to Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC).

“It was awkward, man. It was like a weird fight,” Strickland told reporters at the UFC 302 post-fight press conference. “There was a moment where I stopped being in my fight stance and I just started walking forward like, ‘What the f*ck are we doing here?'”

Strickland can’t pinpoint exactly what happened with Costa that caused the lackluster fight. His guess is that Costa, who has a history of putting on Fight of the Night performances, was just not up for fighting that night.

“He did land calf kicks, but for every one calf kick he landed, I landed like five teeps,” Strickland said. “His stomach showed more damage than my calf did. It was just a weird f*cking fight, man. I don’t know what was going on with Costa. I think Costa maybe just wanted to be friends. I don’t know.

“… You can never tell how good somebody is until they fight somebody good. I think there was that moment where every time Costa was like, ‘I’m going to fight this man,’ he gets stuck in that phase like, ‘I don’t think I want to fight this man today.’ So I think a lot of it just is you never know how good somebody is until they fight somebody good, and that’s what you saw there.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Israel Adesanya reacts to Sean Strickland’s UFC 302 win: ‘Costa sucks off the back foot’

Israel Adesanya had a close eye on former foes Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa’s fight at UFC 302.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] had a close eye on former foes [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] and [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]’s fight at UFC 302.

Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) defeated Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) by split decision in this past Saturday’s five-round co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. – an outcome Adesanya accurately predicted.

Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who’s the only fighter to ever finish Costa, pointed out a deficiency in the Brazilian’s game which allowed Strickland to find eventual success in the fight.

“Costa sucks off the back foot. He’s not really good off the back foot,” Adesanya reacted on his YouTube channel. “He’s doing better in this fight. Costa could set him up so bad here, man, because (Strickland is) so worried about that leg.”

In his most recent fight, Adesanya lost the middleweight title to Strickland at UFC 293. Strickland pointed the finger at Costa for their disappointing fight which drew boos from the crowd, but Adesanya says Strickland is tougher to deal with than people think.

“It’s easier said than done (to stand your ground vs. Strickland), I’ll tell you that,” Adesanya said. “But if you’ve worked on it, you know how to do it.”

Strickland wound up losing his middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, before rebounding against Costa. Adesanya is expected to be Du Plessis’ next title challenger.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Paulo Costa vows ‘to take heads off’ after UFC 302 loss: ‘F*ck points or conserving energy’

Paulo Costa plans on bringing back his aggressive style after UFC 302.

[autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] plans on bringing back his aggressive style after UFC 302.

Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) lost a split decision to Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) in this past Saturday’s co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

A frustrated Costa took to “X” to react to his fight, vowing to take a more aggressive approach moving forward. Strickland put the blame on Costa for what he called an “awkward” fight.

“Yeah, Sean won, I didn’t perform very well,” Costa said. “I think he didn’t either, but at least he did enough to win, right? This is two losses in a row in three fights. Three former champs: Luke Rockhold, Whittaker, and Sean. I won one and lost two. But let me tell you something, I agree with Dana (White) and Joe Rogan, and I will do that, I will bring back the Paulo that takes heads off, to finish the fight.

“Sorry, I’m not that kind of counter guy. I do better moving forward and trying to finish and look for heads. Sean is so awkward, so different kind of fighter to fight against, it’s difficult. He was teeping me, keep pushing me, keeping me far from him because he knows the power that I have. And I have the power, so I need to deliver that, and I will do that.”

Costa started off his UFC career with four straight knockouts then a war with Yoel Romero. “Borrachinha” has since struggled, losing four of his past five.

“I won’t give a f*ck,” Costa posted. “F*ck points or conserving energy, or f*ck anything about that. I will come to take heads off. And this is who I am, this is the kind of fighter I am, and the fighter who people expect that I perform. So I will do that. F*ck points, I’ve had enough of this. Even the first round that I was 100 percent sure that I won, some people thought I lost. F*ck them. I will come to take heads off. That’s it. Who I am.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Dana White blasts judge who scored UFC 302 fight for Paulo Costa: ‘It was f*cking nuts’

Dana White doesn’t want to see judge Dave Tirelli anywhere near a big fight again.

NEWARK, N.J. – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] doesn’t want to see judge Dave Tirelli anywhere near a big fight again.

The UFC CEO was flabbergasted that Tirelli scored Saturday’s UFC 302 co-main event in favor of [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who lost a split decision to Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) at Prudential Center.

Tirelli also had an odd scorecard for the opening fight of the night between Andre Lima and Mitch Raposo. Tirelli had it 29-28 Raposo, while the other two judges scored it 30-27 for Lima. White thought Strickland clearly beat Costa.

“It wasn’t weird – it was f*cking nuts is what it was,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters during the post-fight news conference. “It’s insane. That guy should never (judge) a big fight again. They should kick him back down to the minor leagues and let him work on his judging.

“It’s unbelievable. How anybody who isn’t an absolute f*cking lunatic could call that fight a split decision … I don’t even know what to say about that. It’s insane. That guy shouldn’t be judging big fights.”

Strickland insists on fighting for the title next after rebounding against Costa. White was impressed with the former champion’s performance.

“It’s not the fight I expected,” White said. “Every time you see Paulo Costa in a fight, it’s a war. He usually goes to war, but you could tell tonight, he couldn’t get off. Brilliant kicking that leg the way he did. Strickland is tough as hell. He was eating those leg kicks all night.

“I’m wondering how he’s walking, because I haven’t heard anything but he did some big damage to that front leg. I thought (Strickland) fought a beautiful, perfect fight. He’s a very awkward guy to fight and how he throws those teep kicks and his hands are so good, he’s very elusive and beautiful jab, and he basically picked Costa apart and shut him down.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

UFC 302 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Islam Makhachev’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 302 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $218,500.

NEWARK, N.J. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 302 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $281,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 302 took place at Prudential Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 302 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cesar Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Joe Solecki[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Phil Rowe[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bassil Hafez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mitch Raposo[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,264,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,001,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Sean Strickland def. Paulo Costa at UFC 302: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Sean Strickland’s split decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]’s split decision win over [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Fight and venue photos by Joe Camporeale, USA Today Sports)

UFC 302 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 302 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

NEWARK, N.J. – UFC 302 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

You can hear from all the UFC 302 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier preview show live stream with Farah Hannoun

Before the fights get underway, join MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun for a live-streamed preview of UFC 302.

The UFC is back in New Jersey with UFC 302, headlined by a lightweight title fight and a middleweight banger, and before the fights get underway, Farah Hannoun will host a live-streamed preview show right here, which kicks off at 5 p.m. ET.

In the main event, lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) puts his title on the line against former interim champ [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC). In the co-main event, former middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) faces former title challenger [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC).

UFC 302 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Below is the complete lineup of fights:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Paulo Costa vs. Sean Strickland
  • Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Alex Morono vs. Niko Price
  • Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe

EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Bassil Hafez vs. Mickey Gall
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Andre Lima vs. Mitch Raposo

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.