Sean Strickland exposes Alex Pereira’s biggest weakness after sparring with the former UFC champion
Sean Strickland has a newfound respect for former Octagon foe Alex Pereira.
With both men scheduled for their highly anticipated return to the Octagon in July, outspoken middleweight contender Sean Strickland and the division’s former champion Alex Pereira decided to bring their heads and their fists together during a week of training. Seen sparring together in a recently released video clip, Strickland spoke with The Schmo at Xtreme Couture to detail his time working with ‘Poatan’ and revealed one glaring weakness that the Brazilian boogeyman still struggles with inside the Octagon.
“All offense, no defense. When that man fights, bro, it’s just like, I’m gonna let you hit me [then] I’m gonna hit you back,” Strickland revealed. “It’s good, man. He’s a stand-up f*ckin’ guy. Really solid guy but all offense, no defense.”
Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira Return to the Octagon Next Month
Before Alex Pereira hoisted UFC gold above his head with a shocking fifth-round knockout of Israel Adesanya last year, ‘Poatan’ scored a highlight-reel-worthy knockout against Sean Strickland during their UFC 276 scrap nearly a year ago. ‘Tarzan’ followed the loss with another tough defeat, dropping a second-straight bout to perennial contender Jared Cannonier. However, Strickland was able to bounce back and return to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Nassourdine Imavov in January.
On July 1, Sean Strickland will look to make it two in a row as he is set to square off with Abus Magomedov in a middleweight main event inside The APEX.
Five months after climbing to the top of the middleweight mountain, Alex Pereira handed back the 185-pound crown to ‘The Last Stylebender’ following a second-round knockout loss at UFC 287. Ready for a change of scenery, ‘Poatan’ is set to make his light heavyweight debut on July 29 as the promotion heads back to Salt Lake City for UFC 291. Pereira will square off with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in what is shaping up to be a title eliminator.
