Alex Pereira trains with former Octagon foe Sean Strickland ahead of July return: ‘His style is kind of weird’
Alex Pereira has had a change of heart when it comes to the skills of Sean Strickland after spending a week training with his former foe.
The former middleweight world champion is preparing for his light heavyweight debut on July 29 when he heads to Salt Lake City for a 205-pound clash with another ex-titleholder, Jan Blachowicz. Always eager to evolve his game, Alex Pereira spent some time working with one of the most outspoken and polarizing personalities in the UFC, Sean Strickland.
In a video clip shared on his YouTube channel, Alex Pereira had nothing but positive things to say about ‘Tarzan’ during their final day of training together.
“This is my last day with Strickland. A tough guy. I was surprised with his high level on the ground,” Pereira said. “He surprised me. People say his style is kind of weird. People say that about me, too. After training with him, I’m starting to get it. They are things that work. He taught us some things that I’ll practice for sure because I saw that they are very effective.”
Alex Pereira scored a first-round knockout against Sean Strickland at UFC 276 last year, a win that would tee him up for a showdown with former GLORY Kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya. Pereria would go on to capture the middleweight title, knocking out Adesanya in the fifth round of their UFC 281 clash. ‘Poatan’ handed the title back to ‘The Last Stylebender’ five months later, prompting his move to the light heavyweight division.
Alex Pereira Predicts a Win for Sean Strickland in July
After spending some time working alongside Sean Strickland, Alex Pereira believes that ‘Tarzan’ will score another big win in his own return to the Octagon this July.
“I think his next fight will be a great one, but I’m betting on Strickland because I could see how much he works. He doesn’t stop. Sometimes we’re in a situation that makes me think, ‘Ok, now he’s going to stop. He’s going to give up.’ He doesn’t give up, though. Even on the feet. He’s a constant hassle. He gives you no room to breathe. He’s always on you. He’s well-rounded, but his ground game is what surprised me the most because he never shows it. I could see a little bit of it this week.”
“I’m confident about his next fight,” Pereira said. “In the last one, he took it on short notice at light heavyweight. Three days of notice. He had just come off another fight, only had three weeks to rest. Then they called him, offered him the fight, and he took it. Now he’s done the whole planning, and at a weight class that’s right for him. He’s got everything to win this fight” (h/t Bloody Elbow).
Suffering back-to-back losses against Alex Pereria and Jared Cannonier, Sean Strickland bounced back with a big unanimous decision win over Nassourdine Imavov to kick off his 2023 campaign. He’ll look to make it two in a row as he steps back into the Octagon for a scrap with streaking Dagestani standout Abus Magomedov on July 1.
