Former UFC Middleweight champion Alex Pereira believes Sean Strickland has the capability to overcome title holder Israel Adesanya.
Rumours have been circulating of a proposed bout between the pairing since Strickland’s second round finish of promotion newcomer Abusupiyan Magomedov just over three weeks ago.
Despite having not yet fought in the octagon, Adesanya and his potential challenger have exchanged heated words towards each other on multiple occasions, none being as notable as the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference.
Alex Pereira Talks Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya
It was at said event where Pereira first earned his 185 lbs title shot, knocking out Strickland two-and-a-half minutes in with a duo of perfectly-timed strikes, the first being the Brazilian’s signature left-hook.
‘Poatan‘ then proved to worldwide MMA enthusiasts that his long-standing rival, Adesanya, was not untouchable at middleweight. The 36-year-old delivered a final round stoppage to earn the division’s belt, and he now believes Strickland also has the answers to the conundrum which is ‘The Last Stylebender‘.
Speaking to the press ahead of his upcoming bout at UFC 291 against Jan Błachowicz, Pereira said: “Fighting Israel Adesanya is always a hard fight, but he showed that he can be beaten.
“Sean Strickland, he has a chance. Different game plans are hard. But if anyone has a chance against Adesanya, that’ll be Sean Strickland. But it’s still a hard fight.”
The former champ has been training alongside his once-competitor in Strickland, and clearly rates his skillset following their time together in the build-up to this weekend’s co-main event.
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South African fighter Dricus Du Plessis recently overcame Robert Whittaker via TKO to emerge as a No. 1 contender. Despite this shock result over the Aussie, Pereira can’t see ‘Stillknocks‘ being a problem for Adesanya.
He said: “Honestly, man, I don’t know if it’s maybe too much for Du Plessis because Adesanya’s way superior.
“Looking at this fight overall, it’s a fight that does not even make too much sense to me.”
When asked about who stands in better stead for the belt out of Strickland and Du Plessis, Pereira fancied the former’s chances.
“One-hundred percent,” Pereira said. “One hundred-percent. If Sean Strickland put in the work, he should (win that fight).”
Strickland has recently been vocal about his proposed title shot, reporting to the world that a fight against Adesanya is supposedly off. The American was quoted saying “someone at the UFC really dropped the ball.”
UFC fans will be eager to see the Middleweight title on the line again soon, but will have to wait and see who Adesanya next gets pitted against for the belt.
Is Alex Pereira right? Does Sean Strickland have a chance do dethrone Israel Adesanya? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
