Sean Strickland praises the power of former opponent Alex Pereira following recent sparring session: “Why do you punch so hard?!”
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has nothing but respect for Alex Pereira.
‘Tarzan’ has been out of the octagon since his split-decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 last month. That bout was Sean Strickland’s first since losing middleweight gold in January, and he largely dominated ‘The Eraser’. Following the win, the former champion revealed plans to sit and wait for the winner of Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.
However, while Sean Strickland isn’t booking any fights right now, he’s not ending his training. Earlier this week, the former UFC middleweight champion took to social media to show a picture of himself training with Alex Pereira. ‘Poatan’ famously handed Strickland a knockout loss in July 2022, earning a title shot in the process.
In the two years since their fight, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira have actually become friendly. Not long after ‘Tarzan’ suffered a knockout loss to the Brazilian, they met up and trained. Since then, they’ve remained close, and continue to spar. In his post on social media earlier this week, Strickland joked that Pereira doesn’t need to hit so hard in training.
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Sean Strickland spars with current UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira
While Sean Strickland currently has no plans to return to the cage, the same cannot be said for Alex Pereira. ‘Poatan’ is fresh off his knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 303 last month in Las Vegas. That bout was famously made on short notice, after the cancelation of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler.
Since then, the Brazilian hasn’t officially booked his return to the cage. However, Alex Pereira has confirmed that he plans to compete again later this year, and will likely face Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian is currently coming off a knockout win over Johnny Walker in January. That victory moved Ankalaev to an 18-1-1 professional record in the cage.
As of now, there is no rumored date for the UFC light-heavyweight champion’s return to the cage. However, Pereira himself has shown interest in fighting as soon as December.
What do you make of this UFC news? Who do you want to see Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira fight next?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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Alex Pereira Sean Strickland UFC
