Sean O'Malley lauds Sean Strickland's "sweet" style after UFC 302 win over Paulo Costa: "He's hard to hit on his chin"
Sean Strickland's UFC 302 win over Paulo Costa has impressed UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley. Earlier this month at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, 'Tarzan' put on a striking masterclass against 'Borrachinha' en route to a split-decision win.
During a recent episode of the TimboSugarShow, O'Malley lauded the former middleweight champion's style, claiming that he was hard to hit clean:
"His style is so sweet. He is primarily orthodox, but he'll march at you checking kicks into southpaw, throwing teeps from both stances. His eyes are so good, he's hard to hit on his chin, unless you are Alex Pereira, he hit him on the chin, but yeah that would be a nightmare fight... You could tell, at the end of the first round, you're like, this isn't good. This is not looking good for Costa."
Catch Sean O'Malley's comments on Sean Strickland below:
Following the win, 'Tarzan' called for a title fight in his next octagon outing. Given that he lost the 185-pound title in a controversial split decision loss to Dricus du Plessis, Strickland might get his wish.
The California native holds an evolving MMA record of 29-6, with wins against big names, including Israel Adesanya, Jack Hermansson, and Uriah Hall. Many consider the 33-year-old to be one of the best boxers in the UFC.
Sean Strickland laments not finishing Paulo Costa
While he got the win at UFC 302, Sean Strickland is not happy with how his fight against Paulo Costa played out. 'Tarzan' was actively hunting for a finish, which eluded him during the bout.
Speaking to Megan Olivi after the fight, Strickland slammed Costa for opting to back up constantly instead of standing his ground and trading with him:
"I didn't think he was going to back up. Costa is not known to fight like that. I wasn't expecting a fight like that. It was a damn shame. I wanted to finish him, but unless I was running out on a full sprint, I just couldn't catch him."
Catch Sean Strickland's comments on Paulo Costa below (0:20):
Furthermore, a disgruntled 'Tarzan' joked perhaps he should focus on honing his wrestling skills to deal with opponents who don't fancy engaging with him on the feet.