"Will you fight me?" - Paulo Costa demands an answer from Sean Strickland

Paulo Costa seems to be tired of the constant back-and-forth with Sean Strickland. He wants to know whether 'Tarzan' really wants to share the octagon with him or not. In his latest tweet, Costa accused Strickland of "hiding" from a potential clash against him:

"Sean Strickland have you cleaned up or do you still have your pants sh*t on? Will you fight me or stand hiding, it’s ok just let me know."

In his last fight, Paulo Costa suffered a unanimous decision loss against Marvin Vettori. The Brazilian is currently on a two-fight losing skid in the octagon. Strickland, on the other hand, picked up a split-decision win against Jack Hermansson in his last fight and continues his steady rise towards the top of the middleweight division.

It will be interesting to see if this budding rivalry culminates in a fight between two of the most prolific strikers in the 185lbs division.

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Sean Strickland claims UFC unwilling to book matchup with Paulo Costa

Back in November last year, Strickland expressed interest in a potential fight with Costa if the latter could "put down the wine and cookies". Costa recently responded to the callout, seemingly agreeing to fight the outspoken American. Strickland, however, seems to have had a change of heart.

According to Strickland, he asked the UFC matchmakers about a potential clash with Costa but they said no. Strickland claimed that Costa's recent issues with cutting weight have apparently led the promotion to stop considering him as a middleweight going forward.

While he said they aren't likely to scrap inside the octagon, Strickland warned the Brazilian that when they cross paths in Vegas, it'll be on sight if Costa continues to "run his mouth":

"@BorrachinhaMMA here's the thing man. The UFC said no. I asked multiple times..... But after your forced to move to light heavyweight I'll catch you in Vegas and if you wanna run your mouth I'll give it to you for free..."

In response, Paulo Costa claimed that Strickland was trying to avoid fighting him and branded him as a "fake macho" guy:

"I knew you were a fuc*king pus*y but this show of insecurity surprised even me. just another fake macho."