Although he’s fighting an unranked opponent next, Sean Strickland expects to emerge as a No. 1 contender with a win.
At UFC 277 on July 30, Strickland (25-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) meets former Glory Kickboxing dual-champion Alex Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s notched two wins since signing with the UFC in the fall of 2021.
Pereira only has a total of six professional MMA fights, but his storyline with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has given him a lot of steam. Pereira holds two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing: a unanimous decision in 2016, followed by a left hook knockout in their rematch in 2017.
“The f*cking guy knocked out Izzy. The guy’s a f*cking savage,” Strickland said in an interview with Helen Yee. “I actually kind of enjoy, and I’ll tell you why. (Paulo) Costa, to me, is an easy paycheck. All my last fights, all great men, all solid f*cking dudes. But walking into those fights, you’re kind of just like, ‘I’m better than you, I’m better than you, I’m better than you.’
“With Alex, it’s kind of like this scary thing. It kind of gets me excited. You see him, you’re like, ‘Oh man, you’re a big, scary-looking kickboxer, I want to fight you.’ So I do like the fact that he does have that unknown factor – new blood.”
Another pivotal middleweight matchup between Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori will take place at UFC 275 in June just a month before Strickland locks horns with Pereira, but Strickland is confident his fight will determine who gets the winner of the projected matchup between Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.
“Whittaker and Marvin – and again, I love Marvin; he’s a savage – but Whittaker and Marvin, they had their shot. The winner of me and Alex should get the title (shot), absolutely. I think everybody wants that.”
