Sean Strickland’s ‘Daddy issues’ weak compared to Alex Pereira’s ‘Hardness,’ says former UFC champion

Former undisputed middleweight titleholder, Sean Strickland has claimed his admitted “daddy issues” are weak sauce when it comes to the “hardness” instilled in former opponent-turned-training partner, Alex Pereira ahead of UFC 307 — picking the Brazilian to topple Khalil Rountree at UFC 307.

Strickland, who retains the number one rank at the middleweight limit, most recently turned in an impressive split decision win over former title challenger, Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302 back in May, setting him up for a title rematch with the incumbent, Dricus du Plessis in the early goings of next year.

Sean Strickland backs Alex Pereira for dominant win at UFC 307

And travelling to Connecticut ahead of his former opponent, Pereira’s title fight with Syndicate MMA staple, Rountree this weekend at UFC 307 at the Delta Center, Strickland — who felt the power of the Sao Paulo knockout star just two years ago in the form of a first round knockout loss, gushed over the former two-weight champion.

“We’ve had a lot of wars,” Sean Strickland told The Schmo of his training sessions with Alex Pereira. “The problem with Alex is that he hits really f*cking hard, you guys — really f*cking hard. But let me tell you why. When you get raised in the jungles of Brazil where you don’t have running water and surviving off tapir and wildebeest as an infant, and then you worked in a tire shop, that’s a hard man to fight. It’s hard, bro, and my daddy issues don’t make up for that level of hardness. So it was good work.”

I just can’t see Khalil (Rountree) pulling it off,” Sean Strickland told Helen Yee. “I think I may have watched him fight Anthony Smith. I just can’t see it happening. I don’t think he has the tools in the toolbox to beat Alex. He’s not knocking him out. He’s not outstriking him. He’s not outwrestling him. I think Alex is going to make easy work of this fight.”