UFC 302: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier continues on the main card with the co-main event in the middleweight division between Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa. Strickland most recently lost his middleweight championship his last time out meanwhile, Costa dropped a unanimous decision in his last fight. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Strickland-Costa prediction and pick.

Sean Strickland (28-6) is coming off losing his UFC Middleweight Championship in a closely contested fight against the current champ Dricus Du Plessis back in January. Now, Strickland will be taking dangerous knockout artist Paulo Costa in a five-round co-main event in hopes of getting back into title contention this weekend at UFC 302.

Paulo Costa (14-3) is coming off a closely contested loss against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker who he had on skates in round one. Ultimately, he wasn't able to keep up with the pace of Whittaker over three rounds and dropped the decision. Costa will be looking to get a big win this weekend when he takes on Sean Strickland in hopes of putting him back into the title picture this weekend.

Here are the UFC 302 Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC 302 Odds: Sean Strickland-Paulo Costa Odds

Sean Strickland: -245

Paulo Costa: +210

Over 4.5 rounds: +105

Under 4.5 rounds: -135

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Why Sean Strickland Will Win

Sean Strickland's title reign was short-lived after he suffered defeat in Toronto, Canada back in January when he lost his title to the current champion Dricus Du Plessis. While many believed that Strickland did enough to win that fight, it certainly wasn't the version of Strickland we are used to seeing inside the Octagon. Strickland will be looking to get back on track when he faces off against Paulo Costa this weekend at UFC 302.

Strickland is as tough as they come and will always be looking to press the action and move forward to wear out his opponents. While that will be his vision for success in this fight against Costa it also will be a dangerous proposition as Costa packs some power that even someone like Strickland could falter from. Strickland will need to put the pace and the pressure on Costa while trying to avoid the heavy artillery that will be coming his way. As long as he can extend this fight into the championship rounds it should be his fight to lose as Costa will fade mightily as we get into rounds 3-5.

Why Paulo Costa Will Win

Paulo Costa is coming off his first defeat since 2021 when he lost to Marvin Vettori when he lost to Robert Whittaker by unanimous decision at UFC 298. Costa lost to Whittaker via unanimous decision however, he did have Whittaker on skates in round one before he got saved by the bell. He hopes to have better fortune this time around when he takes on Sean Strickland this weekend at the Prudential Center.

Costa is as powerful as one could be in the middleweight division with four of his six victories coming by knockout. Almost knocking out Whittaker with that spinning heel kick in round one shows the impressive power and arsenal that he has to get the knockout. Knowing this fight will be a 5-round co-main event either Costa is going to need to go balls to the wall looking for the finish within the first two rounds or try to pace himself as the fight gets into the championship rounds. It will be interesting to see which he elects to do however, whichever one he does he will always have the ability to land one punch and put Strickland out and that will be his most likely path to getting the job done here this weekend.

Final Sean Strickland-Paulo Costa Prediction & Pick

This should be a barnburner from start to finish in this co-main event. Sean Strickland is as tough as they come only getting knocked out by one of the most feared men in the UFC Alex Pereira during his time as a UFC middleweight. Costa, who's known for his knockout power has yet to have a knockout in five years and he is just 1-3 during that span. As we've seen from Costa throughout his fights, he is most dangerous within the first 10 minutes of a fight and that remains true here in this fight with Strickland. Ultimately, as long as Strickland doesn't suffer the same type of defeat as he did against Pereira, he should weather the early storm of Costa and outpace him down the stretch and either finish him in the championship rounds or get the nod on the judge's scorecards.

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Final Sean Strickland-Paulo Costa Prediction & Pick: Sean Strickland (-245), Over 4.5 Rounds (+105)