Sean Strickland felt effect of Paulo Costa's strikes after UFC 302: "It was a little hard to get out of bed"

Sean Strickland slightly struggled "to get out of bed" due to the damage caused by Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

On June 1, Strickland and Costa were expected to have a middleweight banger inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Unfortunately, the five-round battle between 185-pound contenders didn't fulfill the fans' hopes, as the former middleweight champion emerged victorious by split decision.

Following his loss at UFC 302, Costa took to X and posted a video claiming he's returning to his previous approach of letting loose and prioritizing finishes. The Brazilian fan favorite expressed his frustrations by saying:

"I won't give a f*ck. F*ck points or conserving energy, or f*ck anything about that. I will come to take heads off."

MMA Junkie recently re-posted Costa's quote on Instagram. Strickland took to the comment section and had this to say about his previous opponent's ability to inflict damage on him in his limited attacks:

"It was a little hard to get out of bed today... Every punch and kick that touched my body I'm feeling it today lol."

Strickland's Instagram comment

Watch the video of Paulo Costa reacting to his loss against Sean Strickland below:

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What's next for Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa under the UFC banner?

Heading into UFC 302, Sean Strickland voiced his frustration about not receiving an immediate rematch against Dricus Du Plessis. Considering he's ranked number one, the former middleweight king is likely hoping to face the winner of Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya, which is expected to take place later this year.

Unfortunately for him, Strickland might have to secure another win before fighting for UFC gold. On June 22, Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev are scheduled to fight in Saudi Arabia. If either of the fighters has an impressive performance, they could find themselves fighting Du Plessis or Adesanya for the title next time out.

As for Costa, he's dropped to number eight in the UFC middleweight rankings after consecutive losses against Whittaker and Strickland. Therefore, he may have to fight back in the ranking unless he can secure a matchup against Brendan Allen or Marvin Vettori (rematch).