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Sean Strickland ‘ready to die’ against Paulo Costa in UFC 302 ‘bloodbath’

Jesse Holland is among the longest-tenured media professionals in the combat sports news space, covering MMA, professional wrestling and boxing on a full-time basis since early 2004.

Sean Strickland, like so many other UFC fighters, is prepared to die inside the Octagon.

I’m not sure a co-main event against Paulo Costa is worth dying for; but hey, whatever gets you into the gym every morning to train, I suppose. “Tarzan” battles “The Eraser” as part of the UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) on Sat. night (June 1) inside Prudential Center in Newark.

“UFC 302, man, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Strickland said during “Countdown to UFC 302” (watch the replay here). “I think that me and Costa, we’re going to go in the deep water. It’s going to be a 25-minute war.”

“I think we’re both going to be looking at each other in that third, fourth round, thinking, ‘f**k, we got one more round.’ But mentally, as always, I’m ready to die for what I want. And I think I’m going to pick him apart.”

Strickland (28-6) is looking to rebound from his decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 297 main event earlier this year in Toronto. As for Costa (14-3), he recently dropped a decision to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in Anaheim.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 302 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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