If there’s one person who truly understands how good Alex Pereira is, it’s Sean Strickland.
Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) knocked out Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) back in 2022 before going on to become the UFC middleweight champion later that year by defeating Israel Adesanya. When “Poatan” moved up to the light heavyweight division the following year to embark on a record-breaking run at the top of that division, the two formed a friendship, with the Brazilian joining Strickland’s corner both times he lost to the current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis.
Pereira’s reign at 205 pounds came to a quiet end earlier this year when he was outpointed by Magomed Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) at UFC 313 in March. With strong rumors of an immediate rematch between them, Strickland shared his thoughts on how that fight might unfold.
“Ankalaev is just so fucking good”, Strickland told Red Corner MMA. “I think a couple things. I think Alex has a great chance of beating him in the rematch. I think Alex goes too hard. I mean, how many title defenses did he have? Going up and down weight classes. Where Ankalaev rides the bench for a certain amount of time. Being that active, and not only that, being a superstar.
“No one knows who Ankalaev is. Ankalaev walks down the street, no one knows who the f*** that guy is. Alex is a superstar. He can't leave his house without someone saying, ‘Oh, shit, there's Alex. Should we take a picture?’ Like, it kind of takes a toll on the mind. Where, you know, you take Ankalaev, who just lives in a f***ing cave somewhere. I don't even know where the f*** that guy's from. But you're like, no, he probably lives in a f***ing cave somewhere. And just, like, he doesn't have to deal with the same pressures of being famous as you do in the U. S. So I think Alex, if he just takes a step back, clears his brain, comes in fresh, you know, stop travelling all over the fucking world. I think he has a legitimate shot at beating him.”
