Paulo Costa recruits two Olympic boxers to aid his training for Sean Strickland fight at UFC 302: “Trying to mix the styles”
It appears as though Paulo Costa is looking to make improvements to his stand-up game as he recruited two former Olympic boxers for his training camp. He is scheduled to fight Sean Strickland at UFC 302, and so it seems as though he is expecting a striking battle.
'Borrachinha' has been among the top-10 ranked UFC middleweights for quite some time, however, he has been on the receiving end of a few decision losses and is 1-3 in his last four bouts. Meanwhile, Strickland is coming off his middleweight title loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. He was riding an impressive three fight winning streak prior to that loss.
During the UFC 302 Countdown episode looking at the co-main event, the Brazilian explained his reasoning for enlisting the assistance of the former Olympians Kelson Pinto and Edvaldo 'Badola' Gonzaga. Costa mentioned that they taught him helpful strategies and techniques that will serve him well when he fights Strickland. He said:
"I was killing myself while I trained, and he [Kelson Pinto] taught me how to be more efficient...So we are just trying to mix the styles [of Pinto and Gonzaga] to get the best point of each one...Sean [Strickland] knows how to fight that style. He has a very good jab, he moves forward, he knows how to fight in his very particular stance." [11:52 - 13:15]
Check out the full UFC 302 Countdown episode below:
Edvaldo 'Baldola' Gonzaga heaps praise on Paulo Costa ahead of UFC 302
It appears as though former Olympic boxer Edvaldo 'Badola' Gonzaga has been impressed with Paulo Costa as he heaped praise on the Brazilian ahead of his bout against Sean Strickland at UFC 302.
During the aforementioned episode, Gonzaga discussed what he has noticed about 'Borrachina' while working with him during this training camp. The 41-year-old mentioned that Costa has shown plenty of improvements and believes he could be close to another middleweight title shot. He said:
"Paulo [Costa] is so special, and dangerous for his opponents...They've never fought a guy like 'Borrachinha'...Paulo's evolution as a fighter just keeps increasing. We're dreaming about the UFC belt...We know that if we get past this opponent, the [middleweight] belt is right there. We'll challenge for it again." [12:29 - 13:03]
Check out the promo for Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa below: