Sean Strickland has explained why he thinks the UFC doesn’t fulfill former middleweight title contender Paulo Costa’s demand for a better contract.
The UFC announced a middleweight fight between Costa and Robert Whittaker at UFC 284, only to remove the matchup from the card due to a contractual dispute with the Brazilian, who claimed that he never signed the contract to fight the Aussie in the first place, and the promotion independently announced it to put pressure on him.
‘Borrachinha’ added that the UFC used similar tactics in the past, but he won’t give in this time around and wants a better deal to accept a fight against one of the toughest fighters in the division in Whittaker. Costa was pushed to the limit in his last fight against Luke Rockhold at UFC 278, where he won by unanimous decision. But in his fight prior, the hard-hitting middleweight struggled to make the 185 pound mark against Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 41, forcing the UFC to turn their bout into a light heavyweight contest, which he lost.
Sean Strickland On Paulo Costa
Speaking to Helen Yee (as transcribed by MMA Junkie), Strickland said that Costa’s unprofessional attitude is the reason why he’s finding it hard to earn a bigger deal.
“Here’s the thing about Costa, and I like Costa, but he is also a f***head,” Strickland said. “He doesn’t make weight, he’s an idiot, so it’s like, when you’re a f***head and you go to the UFC and you say, ‘Hey, I want to do this’ – I almost fought Marvin Vettori on a two-day notice because his bitch ass wouldn’t make weight. So it’s hard when you don’t do the right things, it’s hard to get the right things back. You don’t act like a professional, you don’t get treated like a professional.”
Strickland will face Nassourdine Imavov on short notice at UFC Vegas 67 on Saturday night.
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