Alex Pereira is enlisting the help of former middleweight champion Sean Strickland to help him prepare for his next big title defense.
After smashing his way through Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka earlier this year, ‘Poatan’ returns to the Octagon on October 5 for a light heavyweight title clash with streaking knockout artist Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. To help prepare himself for the challenge, Pereira is putting in work at the gym alongside Strickland, a former opponent who is regarded as one of the best boxers in all of mixed martial arts.
“The thing about the altitude is that it’s hard (to train),” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “We did this once when I fought Blachowicz. We did it for two weeks then and three weeks now. I think it’s going to be much better.
“We have a great team here. We have Glover (Teixeira), Plinio (Cruz), Yousri (Belgaroui), ‘Cesinha’ (Cesar Almeida). Sean Strickland is also coming next week to train with us here. I’m very happy with this preparation.”
Alex Pereira sparring with Sean Strickland in preparation for his fight against Khalil Rountree at #UFC307 💪#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/jWYDSKdFQf
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 26, 2024
Fans Question Sean Strickland’s Light Sparring with Alex Pereira
A year before his lights-out performance against Israel Adesanya, Strickland squared off with Pereira at UFC 276. It took the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ all of two-and-a-half minutes to land a brutal left hook that sent ‘Tarzan’ crashing to the canvas, handing Pereira his third straight win inside the Octagon.
Since then, Strickland and Pereira have become friends with the two regularly training together.
Typically, Strickland is known for going hard in sparring sessions, treating it just like he would any legitimate fight. However, fans noticed that the top-ranked middleweight contender seemed to be holding back against ‘Poatan’ in the recently released footage.
“Why isn’t Sean sparring hard like he usually does?”
“Think that’s the lightest I’ve ever seen Sean spar. Dude’s not trying to f*ck up his fight next week.”
“Bro didn’t spar this light with Sneako tho.”
“Never have seen Sean so controlled before.”
“If Sean cuts him we riot.”
“Lmaooo so now Strickland don’t want to go all in? I thought he always sparred 100%”
“Sean not sparring as hard LOL + put on some Lbs.”
“Worst sparring partner.”
Watch the full training video below:
