SUMMARY
- Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira's budding friendship has seen some positive outcomes, it must be noted that the two were not always on the best terms.
- Before training together, Alex Pereira knocked out Sean Strickland at UFC 276.
Sean Strickland is all set for the most important fight of his career at UFC 297. Taking on Dricus Du Plessis in his first defense of the middleweight title, Sean will have to be at his best. As it turns out, he will have a world champion Alex Pereira in his corner for the fight as well.
For those unaware, Sean snatched the middleweight title off of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. Prior to this, Adesanya had reclaimed the title from Alex Pereira at UFC 287. With that said, an unlikely alliance was soon formed between Strickland and Pereira, with both of them sharing a common foe.
Whilst Strickland has been in the UFC since 2014, Alex arrived on the scene in 2021. Since then, the Brazilian has gone on to become a two-divisional champion. Although their budding friendship has seen some positive outcomes, it must be noted that the two were not always on the best terms.
Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira fought at UFC 276
Previously, owing to his exceptional arrival on the scene, Alex Pereira was given Sean Strickland at UFC 276. Having collected two superb victories over Andreas Michailidis and Bruno Silva, the Brazilian was given a clear path to the title fight against Israel Adesanya.
Fighting on the main card of his hated rival, Pereira had to put in a noteworthy performance. As such, “Poatan” went on to knock out Strickland with 2 minutes of the very first round. A seasoned kickboxer, the 36-year-old’s skill and power was too much to handle for Sean. In what was the worst knockout loss of his career, Strickland was reeling after getting absolutely flatlined by the Brazilian.
However, despite their fight and its outcome, there was no animosity between the two. Both fighters were very respectful of each other before and after the fight. Notably, Pereira once infamously confessed that he was fearful of Strickland going into their fight.
Alex Pereira will be in Sean Strickland’s corner for UFC 297
As a result of their mutual respect, a little over a year after their fight, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira began training together. Following back-to-back wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov, Strickland somehow found himself in the title picture. Thus, he chose to get counsel from the man who knocked him out and won against the champion.
Surprisingly, Pereira was very receptive to the idea and even claimed to have learned a lot from the American. Interestingly, their preparations would soon bear fruit after Strickland would go on to beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. Following the massive upset caused by the 32-year-old, Alex further praised his training partner, commending his ability to put a champ like Adesanya on the back foot.
Sean Strickland has Alex Pereira in his corner! 👀#UFC297 | Live on TNT Sports & discovery+pic.twitter.com/Z2E2ZKflgG
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) January 21, 2024
Now, ahead of his first title defense against Dricus Du Plessis, Alex is now in Strickland’s corner for UFC 297. Despite them having very different linguistic backgrounds, Pereira’s counsel as a double champion can be very influential. All things considered, the Brazilian’s presence will be a big boost for Strickland regardless. On the off chance that Strickland loses to Du Plessis, Pereira will be more than ready to step in and handle business.