"Iron sharpens iron" - Joe Rogan credits Alex Pereira with helping Glover Teixeira win UFC gold
Joe Rogan believes Alex Pereira played a big part in his teammate Glover Teixeira winning the UFC light heavyweight title at the age of 41.
Pereira is set to face Sean Strickland at UFC 276 in a fight that will determine the No1. contender at middleweight. That's quite the rise for 'Poatan,' who has just two wins in the UFC and six MMA fights overall. He does have a decade of kickboxing experience, though, and two GLORY world titles.
Former GLORY Middleweight & Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira makes his UFC debut this week! https://t.co/J1q7u7GBVm
When Alex Pereira switched to mixed martial arts, he teamed up with Glover Teixeira up in Bethel, Connecticut. Teixeira is a tough as nails Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, and he undoubtedly helped Pereira level-up his ground game quickly. In turn, Joe Rogan suggests Pereira helped re-invigorate Teixeira to the point where he won a world title.
In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Eryk Anders, Rogan said:
"What Alex has done which is really interesting to me is he teamed up with Glover [Teixeira]. When he teamed up with Glover ... it's an interesting camp. Like who's going to Connecticut to fight for world titles? Glover. And Glover's resurgence all coincides with him training with Alex. When Alex came and started training with him, that's when Glover really made his last run and went for the title and beat Jan [Blachowicz]. Because iron sharpens iron. I think he needed a f***ing assassin in camp with him, a young assassin like Pereira."
Listen to Rogan discuss Alex Pereira and Glover Teixeira's relationship below:
Now it's Glover Teixeira in Alex Pereira's corner, hoping to help him earn his first shot at UFC gold.
Joe Rogan breaks down Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 276
While Joe Rogan is clearly excited to see Israel Adesanya back in action against Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 main event, he's also fascinated by the middleweight showdown between Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland further down the card. Speaking to Eryk Anders on a new episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, he said:
"Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland, that's where the rubber hits the road. We're gonna find out. If Strickland gets hit and gets cracked, I guarantee ... Strickland can fight on the ground. He's got a ground game. And [Andreas] Michailidis, he was able to take Pereira down. Pereira won in the second round with a flying knee. That was his first fight in the UFC. Bruno Silva is a bad motherf***er. He can crack, he's a really good striker, and he hit Alex with some good shots."
While Pereira vs. Strickland may not be a classic "striker vs. grappler" fight, it's a "striker vs. striker who can also grapple" fight. So if Alex Pereira wants to win, he'll have to be better than Sean Strickland on the feet, and be able to avoid Strickland's inevitable takedowns after that.
Sean Strickland had A LOT to say about Alex Pereira’s striking abilities today
#UFC276 (via @MMAJunkie) https://t.co/BVInE0QIh2
This is the big question analysts have about Pereira coming into this fight: is he capable of using his world-class kickboxing abilities against a high ranked UFC opponent with well rounded skills?