Henry Cejudo doesn’t like Paulo Costa’s possibilities towards Sean Strickland if the struggle stays standing.
Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) meets former UFC middleweight champion Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 302 (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) co-main occasion at Prudential Middle in Newark, N.J.
Cejudo warns Costa that if he doesn’t combine issues up towards Strickland, it’s going to be a protracted night time for him.
“Paulo Costa, there’s one factor that I’ll say about him: He trains like a mad man, however as a result of he trains like a freakin’ mad man, he will get harm, he will get injured,” Cejudo mentioned on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “He nonetheless hasn’t realized his lesson man and if he does simply determine to strike with a man like Sean Strickland, Strickland’s received higher putting for my part.
“Perhaps he doesn’t kick, however he out-struck your boy. He out-struck Israel Adesanya, and that was simply based mostly on strain. Paulo’s all the time the bully, however how does Paulo cope with someone that’s pressuring you? And belief me, dude, I’m boys with Paulo. Paulo stayed at my home. Tamara, they love my child, however Jesus man, if he simply decides to strike, I’ve received to go along with Strickland.”
Costa will look to rebound after dropping an entertaining back-and-forth battle to Robert Whittaker at UFC 298. Previous to that, he outlasted Luke Rockhold in a Struggle of the Evening conflict at UFC 278.
After dethroning Israel Adesanya with a putting clinic at UFC 293, Strickland misplaced his middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis by cut up resolution at UFC 297 in January.
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