Paulo Costa believes that Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland crossed a line in their trash talk leading up to their UFC 297 middleweight title fight, particularly when du Plessis brought up Strickland’s family.
Paulo Costa’s got some thoughts. He reckons Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland have crossed a line.
Saturday’s coming up. Strickland’s defending his middleweight title for the first time. He’s up against top contender du Plessis. It’s the main event of UFC 297.
Bad blood? Oh, there’s plenty. It all kicked off when du Plessis brought up Strickland’s childhood and dad. Things got worse at UFC 296. Strickland leapt over a row of seats to go for du Plessis.
Costa’s no stranger to trash talk. But he thinks du Plessis went too far with the family stuff.
“They’re going too far,” Costa told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Family talk? Not necessary. They need to get creative. If it’s real, fine. Be real. But if not, it’s too much. Makes me cringe. Doesn’t sit right with me.”
Du Plessis? He agrees. There are limits to trash talk. He said earlier this week that talking about dead family members is crossing the line. But he’s not backing down on his words against Strickland. He even called the UFC middleweight champion a hypocrite.
Strickland and du Plessis will get their chance to settle the score. It’s happening in the main event of UFC 297. Costa? He’ll be watching.
“Borrachinha” is set to face former champ Robert Whittaker at UFC 298. He thinks it’ll be a No. 1 contender match. He’s confident he’ll beat Whittaker and get a title shot. But he’s not so sure who he’ll be up against.
“It’s interesting,” Costa said about the matchup. “Not because of their skills. They’re not famous for that. But they’re good fighters. They’re odd, different styles. Strickland’s not your typical MMA fighter. Neither is Dricus.
“They’re kinda weird, I think. It’ll be interesting. More of a bad feelings fight than a skilled one. Who wins? I’ve got no clue. No f****** clue. Anything could happen.”
UFC 297? It’s happening this Saturday. Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Be there.