Costa: Strickland turned down UFC 302 bout

Paulo Costa says former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland turned down a fight against him for UFC 302.

In an appearance on "The Coach And The Casual" podcast, Costa said the UFC initially proposed a matchup against Jared Cannonier before turning to Strickland instead. UFC 302 is scheduled for June 1 in Newark, New Jersey.

"UFC suggested I fight Cannonier," Costa said. "It's a nice fight. I love the idea to fight Cannonier. And they suggested the fight for June. But then two days ago, UFC came back and said, 'Paulo, you fight Strickland on June 1.' It's a great fight, it's a fun fight. Even (more fun) than Cannonier, I think.

"Unfortunately, I don't know what happened. Strickland said no. He doesn't want to fight me. Strickland refused to fight me, unfortunately. That's what UFC told me. I just have this information from UFC. I think this fight would be great. I would love to fight him."

Strickland has campaigned for an immediate rematch with Dricus Du Plessis since dropping the 185-pound title to him in a split-decision loss at UFC 297 in January. However, the promotion doesn't appear interested in giving Strickland another title shot.

Strickland seemed to confirm on X that he had been offered the Costa fight, implying that he wasn't satisfied enough with the pay to accept it on seven weeks' notice.

Costa, ranked No. 7 in the middleweight division, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to former champ Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in February.