Henry Cejudo claims Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa "disappointed a lot of fans" with their overly cautious approach: "The fight was a snoozefest"
Former two-division UFC world champion Henry Cejudo recently sounded off on the much-hyped Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa bout at UFC 302 last Saturday. 'Triple C', speaking to fellow former UFC champion Kamaru Usman in their podcast Pound4Pound, had some choice words to describe the five-round dance.
Cejudo was highly critical of the bout and citing the unusual amount of mutual respect between the known brash fighters, he said:
"This fight disappointed a lot of people. They were just too friendly, man. It's almost better to have a little bit of animosity. [They're] just trying to be homies. There's too much respect in there, Kamaru. Inside the cage, nobody wanted to necessarily lose to each other because they're both trolls, that the fight just ended up... the fight was a snoozefest, Kamaru. I don't know how else to say it. "
Here's a clip of the exchange between Usman and Cejudo, as posted on X:
Cejudo might have some good points there. Historically, Strickland and Costa shine with their best performances when there's a little heat or bad blood between them and their opponents. In the lead-up to UFC 302, there's an unusual amount of respect and admiration between the two, which almost made the press conference just a tad bit awkward. Everyone was expecting verbal barbs between the two middleweights but all we got were jokes and harmless quips.
Nothing wrong with a little bit of respect between two great fighters, we say. In the end, Strickland won the five-round affair via a close split decision.
Kamaru Usman disagrees with Henry Cejudo, describing the Strickland-Costa bout as "just a weird fight"
Perhaps being in the minority by saying that he's not all too disappointed with the Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa fight, Kamaru Usman made his case, saying (via @poundforpound on X):
"I know [UFC president] Dana [White] was upset with it but at the same time, how can you be? Those rounds - rounds three, rounds one through four - [were] relatively back and forth. Kinda confusing. You know, Sean [Strickland] was kinda throwing out more strikes but Paulo Costa, when he stood his ground, would land strikes that seemed to be more effective. Just a weird fight."