Alex Pereira favors one man to win in Chimaev-Strickland UFC 328 main event

Alex Pereira is far from impartial when it comes to the UFC 328 main attraction.

Sean Strickland (30-7) is scheduled to challenge Khamzat Chimaev (15-0) for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 328. The two will collide on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. To get some hard sparring in, Strickland roped in Pereira to help finalize his camp. The two former foes collided at UFC 276 in 2022, with “Poatan” crushing Strickland in the first round. An unlikely friendship bloomed from the one-sided shellacking.

Due to their growing kinship, Pereira will be rooting hard for friend Strickland. “Poatan” says he had learned a lot since he started working with Strickland a few years ago, so much so that he has become a cornerman for Strickland. Pereira lauded Strickland’s precise jab as one of the American’s best weapons, while prognosticating that the jab and front kick will be key weapons against Chimaev’s wrestling pressure. Pereira said on a UFC 328 Countdown video:

“Before our fight, I saw him differently,” Pereira admitted. “But once he stepped into the Octagon, you could see it on his face, he was a different guy. He is a warrior. The first time we trained together was after our fight. I learned a lot from those sessions; he’s got a lot of experience. He knows his craft. He’s always moving forward, firing that jab. That’s a great weapon he has. Everyone knows that I’m rooting for Sean Strickland. He’s got to stay composed, keep pressing forward, stay alert, watch out for the takedowns, and use his jab and front kick. I’m really excited and motivated for this fight, and I hope he gets the win.”

After vicious knocking out Strickland, the Brazilian went on to win the middleweight title against Israel Adesanya in his next fight, only to lose it in their immediate rematch. Adesanya then dropped his title to Strickland in a huge upset, but Strickland and “Poatan” did not run it back because the Brazilian had other plans. Moving up to 205 pounds, Pereira instead won that title and defended it thrice within a year. The 38-year-old has subsequent moved up to heavyweight to challenge at the White House on June 14, effectively removing any possibility of him facing Strickland again.