- Sean Strickland revealed a weakness in Alex Pereira’s standup game
- “Tarzan” joked about the first English words he taught “Poatan”
Sean Strickland has been training hard as he gears up for his UFC Vegas 76 showdown against Abus Magomedov. To kick his training up a notch, Strickland flew to Alex Pereira’s Danbury Connecticut gym to spar with the former UFC middleweight champion.
Poatan has no Defense
Speaking to The Schmo, “Tarzan” was asked to describe what it was like to spar with a former foe in Pereira. As expected, Strickland went straightforward and revealed that “Poatan” was good but he didn’t have defense in his standup game arsenal.
“All offense, no defense,” Strickland said of Pereira. “When that man fights, bro it’s just like, ‘I’m gonna let you hit me, I’m gonna hit you back.’ It’s good man, he’s a stand up f***ing guy, really solid guy, but all offense no defense.”
Pereira previously said that learning English from Strickland was part of their recent link-up in Connecticut. Jokingly, “Tarzan” said that the first English words he taught the Brazilian was:
“I told him he’s my enemy right when I met him, like, ‘You’re my enemy you know, you’re a dirty big crazy Brazilian.’ But nah, he was a good dude. He’s a good dude.’”
It can be recalled that Pereira ended Strickland’s impressive winning streak when he knocked him out in the first round of their UFC 276 bout. Despite being rivals, the two wound up becoming friends.
A Win should put Sean up There
Heading into the fight with Magomedov, Strickland explained why he thinks one win is enough to put him back in the middleweight title fight mix.
“If this fight goes my way, it 100 percent should be in the cards,” Strickland said. “I f**king had a close decision with f**king… what the f**k was that guy’s name? Jared Cannonier, you knocked some brain cells out of me. Solid guy. Thought I won on the scorecards, but it is what it is. I truly believe I should be the one fighting Izzy, but I lost fair and square. I’ll pay my tenants. I’ll get some Ws, but yeah, that one needs to happen.”
Strickland is coming off a unanimous decision win over Nassourdine Imavov. He is currently the No. 7 middleweight contender and needless to say, a defeat to an unranked fighter in Magomedov could toss him out of the Top 10.
