Sean Strickland explains why he’s fighting Alex Pereira instead of Paulo Costa at UFC 277

UFC middleweight Sean Strickland has explained why he’s taking on Alex Pereira instead of Paulo Costa at UFC 277.

A few days ago it was announced that Sean Strickland, one of the UFC’s top 185-pounders, will be taking on rising star Alex Pereira at UFC 277 in July. While the majority of fans were pleasantly surprised to see this match-up get made, others were taken aback by Pereira being thrust into such a prominent spot.

The popular opinion is that the UFC wants to fast track him in the hope of making a title fight between Israel Adesanya and “Poatan”. The two men have history together in the kickboxing world with Pereira holding two wins over the reigning middleweight king.

Strickland, who was linked with a fight against Paulo Costa for a few months, gave his side of the story during an interview with The Schmo.

“I called you out [Paulo Costa] multiple times before anything, and the UFC said ‘f*** no’, meaning I’m gonna beat the s*** out of you and they don’t want me to fight you. That’s what happened, I will show you the messages to them saying no I can’t fight you. So Costa, go f*** yourself and if I see you in Vegas, and you wanna run this s*** back, anytime you f***ing want dude let’s f***ing go. You don’t even need to make weight.”

Strickland has made a name for himself in the last twelve months as someone who isn’t afraid to cause a stir. Some aren’t convinced his persona is legitimate but whatever the case may be, he’s doing his job when it comes to making headlines.

Do you think Sean Strickland should be the favourite heading into his fight with Alex Pereira? Would you still like to see him take on Paulo Costa down the line?