Paulo Costa reacts to his wild first pitch at New York Mets game before UFC 302: "I have no excuse"
Paulo Costa has shared his thoughts on his first pitch prior to the New York Mets' recent loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. On episode three of the UFC 302 'Embedded' miniseries on YouTube, the middleweight, who is set to face Sean Strickland in Saturday's co-main event, touched on his first pitch.
The episode features a clip of Costa's pitch, and it left a lot to be desired. The UFC middleweight lacked both aim and power in his throw, missing the catcher's glove completely. Costa, a lifelong athlete, feels that his performance was inexcusable.
"I just missed that, guys. I have no excuse. I'm not good on that."
Check out Paulo Costa's thoughts on his disastrous first pitch (6:20):
Unfortunately, the former middleweight title challenger isn't the only UFC fighter to have a poor first pitch. Conor McGregor, the promotion's first-ever simultaneous two-division champion, famously had a subpar first pitch at the Chicago Cubs' game against the Minnesota Twins on Sep. 21, 2021.
Despite his own poor pitch, Costa is more focused on his upcoming middleweight clash with Strickland, who will be the second consecutive former 185-pound champion that 'Borrachinha' will face, as he was recently handed a unanimous decision loss by Robert Whittaker in a hard-fought bout at UFC 298.
He will be eager to return to the win column, especially given his recent run of form of one win in his last four fights. At 33 years old, he cannot afford too many setbacks before age catches up to him, least of all due to how infrequently he has fought over the last few years.
Despite Paulo Costa's poor first pitch, some UFC fighters have had good ones
Paulo Costa's disastrous first pitch has become the talk of the town, but there have been UFC fighters who have had more positive first pitches. Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is one who had a good first pitch for the Oakland Athletics.
Check out the first pitches of other UFC fighters:
Others include former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who threw the first pitch for his hometown baseball team, the Cleveland Indians. Unfortunately, Costa couldn't replicate their throws, which were all aimed at the catcher.