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Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has offered his thoughts on the matchup between Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
On the Michael Bisping YouTube channel, the UK native got into some of the more meaningful variables in the June 1 pay-per-view matchup. He specifically discussed how some factors favor former UFC middleweight champion Strickland as opposed to former UFC middleweight title challenger Costa.
In breaking down some of the facets of this looming fight, Bisping said:
"Paulo Costa hits harder, I'm telling you right now. That's my opinion anyway. I've trained with Sean Strickland, he's got very good boxing. We know that, we saw that. When he beat Israel Adesanya, the best performance of his career, almost finished him in the first round, right. He will go out there, he will fight but his style is behind the jab.
"Paulo Costa is going to come forward a lot. I think Paulo Costa hits harder. But I think Sean has an advantage with the cardio. Let's remember this is a five round [co] main event. That is a significant advantage for Sean Strickland because he has an economic style. Paulo Costa swings with everything he has."
Check out Bisping's assessment of Strickland vs Costa at the 7:45 mark below
Sean Strickland and his successes over five-round bouts
Strickland captured the King of the Cage middleweight title against Josh Bryant via split decision at KOTC: Unification in December 2012. He also defended his KOTC 185 pound belt against Yusuke Sakashita by way of a unanimous decision at KOTC: Worldwide in July 2013.
The native of the United States had his first five rounder in the UFC and garnered a UD over Uriah Hall in their July 2021 UFC Fight Night headline bout. He then bested Jack Hermansson via SD in their February 2022 UFC Fight Night main event.
Strickland again topped another UFC Fight Night marquee attraction, besting Nassourdine Imavov across all three judges' scorecards in January last year.
Sean Strickland also defeated Israel Adesanya over 25 minutes. He became the UFC middleweight champion in that contest at UFC 293 and emerged with the gold around his waist when the dust settled on that pay-per-view main event.
