Sean Strickland weighed in on the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
On April 8, the UFC middleweight championship will be up for grabs as ‘The Last Stylebender’ looks to avenge his three losses against Pereira. Before the highly-anticipated rematch, the UFC has been releasing behind-the-scenes videos for their embedded series.
During episode four of UFC 287 Embedded, Strickland was seen preparing his friend and training partner Chris Curtis for his fight against Kelvin Gastelum. The number seven-ranked UFC middleweight took time away from focusing on Curtis and had this to say about the matchup between Adesanya and Pereira:
“It’s gonna be hard man, run around and dance and I mean it all just comes down [to] if Alex [Pereira] should track him down like in the last fight. It’s not a hard fight because Izzy’s gonna fight, it’s a hard fight because if Izzy [Adesanya] can run and hide he has a chance like last fight.”
After giving his breakdown for the UFC 287 main event, Strickland was invited to take a picture with Pereira and his team. The interaction was somewhat awkward but also wholesome, considering ‘Poatan’ fought Strickland in July 2022 and knocked him out in the first round to secure a title shot.
Watch episode four of the UFC 287 Embedded series below:
Sean Strickland warns Israel Adesanya to not ‘let that big motherf*cker touch you’
Alex Pereira has a combination of power and technique that makes him one of the most dangerous strikers in UFC history. Despite losing the majority of his fights against Israel Adesanya, Pereira has won their three meetings by securing two late knockouts. During the same UFC 287 Embedded series episode, Sean Strickland warned Adesanya to avoid the power of ‘Poatan’:
“Me and Izzy are a little genetically different but, man get on that bike and run sir. Don’t let that big motherf*cker touch you.”
At UFC 287, Adesanya looks to secure his first win against Pereira. Although ‘Poatan’ always seems to find a way to win, ‘The Last Stylebender’ remains confident that he can avoid his rival’s power and regain the UFC middleweight championship. Only time will tell who can emerge victorious inside the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida.
