Sean Strickland calls out Paulo Costa: ‘I’m going to put him on his knees and f*ck him like Izzy’

LAS VEGAS – Sean Strickland wants a potential title eliminator with Paulo Costa for his next trip to the octagon this year.

After snapping a two-fight losing skid with a short-notice decision win over Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 217 in January, Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) is looking to build his stock back up in the middleweight division, and sees former title challenger Costa as the appropriate next step.

“I want to fight Costa,” Strickland told MMA Junkie. “I know he’s in some contract negotiations. It was nice. The UFC pretty much said a no-consequence fight (against Imavov) – just go out there and have fun. I’ve got to be honest – I love when it’s like that. I would’ve stepped in to fight Ryan Spann this weekend if they would’ve offered me it. It’s so much better when you can go out there and fight and you’re going to make f*cking money and it doesn’t matter.”