Sean Strickland explains why fighting Alex Pereira is so terrifying: "Everybody on the roster's going to sleep"
Sean Strickland has interacted with Alex Pereira several times over the years and highly rates the Brazilian's aptitude for finishing fights. In a recent video shared by Pereira's head coach, Plinio Cruz, Strickland discussed why it's so tough to throw down in a striking battle with 'Poatan'
The two popular fighters have occasionally trained together since their bout in 2022 and recently shared a clip from after one of their sparring sessions. Strickland was sitting down with Cruz and Pereira after a grueling training session and discussed how unique Pereira's striking power is.
In a clip shared via the X account @ChampRDS, Strickland said:
"Like I'm not scared of Alex. But the problem is my chin will just; I mean I'll go to sleep. Like it's a weird thing when you fight Alex. For me to knock Alex out, he has to do something really stupid. Like he has to do like what he did against Izzy [Israel Adesanya]. Like if you gave me one free shot and you said give everything I can to it, I'm not knocking him out."
The former UFC middleweight champion added:
"But you do that to Alex, everybody on the roster's going to sleep. That's one of the s*** things when I spar him because I feel like me and Alex kickboxing, we go toe to toe. But I just know that no matter what the f*** I do, he's gonna eat it and if he just touches me one good one, good night."
Check out Strickland discussing Pereira's ability to KO anyone below:
Revisiting Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 276
prior to their multiple training sessions and newfound friendship with one another, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira squared off in a pivotal middleweight bout at UFC 276 in 2022.
After picking up just two wins in the UFC, Pereira was given a chance to vault up the rankings with the matchup against the highly-ranked Strickland. The promotion was looking to speed up 'Poatan's scent to re-ignite his kickboxing rivalry with then-champion Israel Adesanya, who headlined UFC 276, defending his 185-pound belt against Jared Cannonier
Pereira made light work of Strickland, landing his signature left hook in the very first round, and came away with a TKO victory, setting up a championship bout with Adesanya, which he also won via TKO.