Alex Pereira was at Sean Strickland's fights against Dricus Du Plessis (via X)
Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland have developed a strong friendship over the years, training together and pushing each other to improve. At UFC 312, Pereira was in Strickland’s corner, offering support and guidance. According to Strickland’s coach, having the Brazilian there proved to be a valuable addition irrespective of the result.
In the past, Pereira and Strickland have fought each other, where ‘Tarzan’ suffered a KO loss. However, since then, times have changed and both fighters have had several sparring sessions together. In a recent interview, Eric Nicksick shared details about having Pereira in their team at UFC 312.
He is intimidating as all hell… He leaned over a few times and he’s looking at me like… ‘What the hell is going on with Sean?’ I’m looking at him like… ‘Man, we need to get this out of him. He was cool and has a lot of great insight… It was an honor to have him in the corner.
Eric Nicksick via The Ariel Helwani Show
Nicksick revealed that Pereira was already there in Australia, and was helpful during the last part of the fight camp. The coach, however, has made it clear that the team was surprised by Strickland’s lack of intent against Dricus Du Plessis. Nicksick has even suggested that the fighter should now rethink his future in the UFC.
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"[Alex Pereira] is intimidating as all hell… He leaned over a few times and he's looking at me like… 'What the hell is going on with Sean?'
I'm looking at him like… 'Man, we need to get this out of him.'
Pereira also had a bone to pick against DDP, and expected Strickland to beat the South African. After the fight, Du Plessis also called out Pereira for a potential title fight in the light heavyweight division. However, going against someone like ‘Poatan’ won’t be that easy for a middleweight.
UFC veteran believes that wrestling is the only way to beat Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira has been a dominant force of nature since he made his UFC debut back in 2021. After becoming the middleweight champion by defeating Israel Adesanya, he moved up and continued his dominance in the light heavyweight division. He has defended the title thrice knocking out all his challengers in a single year.
UFC veteran shares tips to end Alex Pereira’s undeniable dominance (via X)
Many fans don’t think anybody in the light heavyweight class can beat Pereira. Currently, the Brazilian superstar is scheduled to fightMagomed Ankalaev, who has a wrestling background. In a recent interview, former UFC champion, Tito Ortiz, shared his opinion on the current light heavyweight division.
They are not wrestling anymore. Guys at that level, they’re just all strikers. The person to beat someone like Pereira is gonna be a wrestler. Someone who’s gonna take him down, put him on the fence and smash him….That guy is a monster.
Other than Ankalaev, Pereira could be fighting the heavyweight champion Jon Jones or Dricus Du Plessis. Both fighters do have good wrestling and are smart enough to utilize it. It would be interesting to see how long ‘Poatan’ manages to maintain his undefeated championship streak.
Ameetosh is a writer specializing in MMA and boxing. He’s a BBA graduate with great enthusiasm towards combat sports and sports in general. Ameetosh got into MMA after experiencing the iconic rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Currently he is trying his best to create stories to make the readers feel something similar.
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