Strickland’s coach reveals failed Chimaev booking Sean Strickland had options after losing the UFC middleweight title but wound up with Paulo Costa . Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) takes on Costa (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the UFC 302 co-main event June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. But before the Costa match became official, Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture, revealed the UFC brass mentioned the possibility of a showdown with Khamzat Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) before he was booked against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 . “I know they were hoping for maybe Khamzat, but I don’t think Sean can travel to Saudi Arabia or something – I’m not 100 percent sure,” Nicksick said in an interview with Sportskeeda . “But I know Khamzat’s name was possibly kicked around. Khamzat is going to be a big draw in Saudi, and that fight is more about location than it was about the opponent, in my opinion.” Related UFC 302's Sean Strickland on Paulo Costa: 'I'm going to make that dirty Brazilian bleed' Sean Strickland vs.
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