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Dricus Du Plessis Scoffs At Alex Pereira Cornering Sean Strickland At UFC 312: ‘Doesn’t Really Make A Difference’

Dricus Du Plessis believes Alex Pereira’s presence in Sean Strickland’s corner at UFC 312 won’t make a difference. Du Plessis is set to put his middleweight title on the line in a highly anticipated rematch against longtime rival Strickland, headlining UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, […]

Dricus Du Plessis believes Alex Pereira’s presence in Sean Strickland’s corner at UFC 312 won’t make a difference.

Du Plessis is set to put his middleweight title on the line in a highly anticipated rematch against longtime rival Strickland, headlining UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, disclosed earlier this week that reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Pereira will lend his seasoned expertise to the outspoken fighter as he eyes a second shot at the 185-pound title.

Pereira himself is preparing to put his belt on the line for the fourth time against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313, set for March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After Pereira knocked out Strickland at UFC 276 in 2022, the two formed a camaraderie and regularly train alongside each other. UFC 312 will mark the second time “Poatan” corners Strickland, having previously been in his corner at UFC 297, where the American lost his title to Du Plessis in a gritty split decision.

During a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, “Stillknocks” laughed off Pereira cornering Strickland at UFC 312, dismissing it as a non-factor. He pointed to the Brazilian’s presence at UFC 297, where Strickland still lost.

“He was in the corner in the first fight too,” Du Plessis said. “I mean, they don’t even speak the same language. It doesn’t really make it much of a difference whether he’s in the corner or not. Strickland could barely understand his own coach who’s also American. How is he going to understand Alex Pereira [laughs]?”

After capturing the middleweight title in January last year, Du Plessis has defended it once, securing a submission victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August.

Meanwhile, Strickland has stepped into the Octagon just once since losing the belt, edging out Paulo Costa via split decision at UFC 303 last June.

Sean Strickland To Dricus Du Plessis: ‘You’re A Wrecking Ball, I’m A F**king Scalpel’

Sean Strickland is confident that he can improve upon his performance at UFC 297 in order to reclaim the middleweight title. After shocking the world by beating Israel Adesanya for the belt at UFC 293, Strickland’s first title defence came in January last year against Dricus Du Plessis. The fight came right down to the […]

The fight came right down to the wire with the judges scoring the fight in favor of the challenger, seeing Du Plessis become the new champion via a split decision. Strickland has developed a trademark style in recent years which has led to many questioning what he can do differently in his rematch with the South African at UFC 312 on February 8.

Whilst “Stillknocks” has a wide variety of attacks at his disposal, Strickland is very much the opposite with the former champ utilizing a fairly straight forward approach that relies heavily on defense and pressure. He recognizes that Du Plessis is a good opponent but he believes that the two men simply have different approaches, rather than one having the advantage over the other.

In an interview with Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie, the challenger spoke about what he expects from his main event clash in Australia.

“It comes down to what I said [before about] f***ing Dricus [du Plessis] on that short bus. I respect him for it. He goes f***ing full send… But you know, you’re a wrecking ball, I’m a f***ing scalpel. It just comes down to who’s better.”

The big question heading into the title fight rematch is whether Strickland can make small adjustments to his game plan in order to make it more effective the second time around. Having had his moments in their first encounter, he’s clearly confident that he will get his hand raised at the second time of asking.

”Last time I think I was better. This time, I think I’m gonna f***ing piece you apart. Your face will look the exact same after (as last fight) if not worse.”

Sean Strickland Praises Opponent-Turned-Friend Alex Pereira’s Journey: ‘The American Dream’

Sean Strickland is going to have one of his former opponents in his corner once again when he returns at UFC 312. The former middleweight champion has struck up a great relationship with Alex Pereira ever since the two men faced each other inside the Octagon at UFC 276 in 2022. Strickland’s head coach, Eric […]

Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, recently confirmed that “Poatan” will be a part of his coaching staff on February 8 in Australia when he takes on Dricus Du Plessis in a rematch for the 185-pound gold. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Strickland told Mike Bohn that having Pereira step in was his idea.

“Alex was out there and I asked him like, ‘You’re out there, if you’re free, come on through’. I asked Eric as well and he said he’s down. He’s a good f****** dude. He has a tough fight coming up with Ankalaev and if he needs me for that to help, I’ll be out there helping him so it kind of goes mutual.”

The most surprising element of this is that whilst Pereira has cornered Strickland in the past, he has his own huge fight coming up the following month at UFC 313 in Las Vegas. His opponent on that night, Magomed Ankalaev, has also spent some time training with Strickland at Xtreme Couture in the fight capital but this hasn’t been the case for his recent camps.

Strickland said that with that in mind, there isn’t a conflict of interests when it comes to choosing which guy to help out.

“Alex has gone out of his way to help me. Me and Ankalaev, we have this mutual respect in the same place and Ankalaev’s a great guy but if Alex needs me after this fight, I’ll be going to Connecticut to give him some work.”

When asked about what Pereira brings to the table as a cornerman for his upcoming title fight, Strickland spoke more about the character of the light heavyweight champion than anything else. He values the Brazilian as someone that he would fight alongside in the street and having those kinds of people make the walk with him is an asset.

Strickland stated that the friendship between him and Pereira doesn’t even run that deep but there is a lot of respect between them. He spoke about how it’s impossible to not be impressed and inspired by what “Poatan” has been able to accomplish after turning his life around to become a huge star in combat sports after finding himself in a rough spot.

“Dude, we’re not even that close. We don’t even speak the same language, he doesn’t speak English. It’s more of like and you got to have respect for Alex. Like dude, where did that man come from? A tire shop, dude. He came from literally nothing and has made a life for himself. As an American, Alex is kind of the American dream. Likes guns. You know, as an American, you have to have respect for someone with that kind of drive and dedication.”

‘You Have No Dignity’ Sean Strickland Blasts UFC Star Khamzat Chimaev ‘He’s Still Owned’ by Dictator

The UFC middleweight division is heating up with two of its most polarizing figures, Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev,…

The UFC middleweight division is heating up with two of its most polarizing figures, Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev, making headlines for their careers and escalating tensions. Strickland has been outspoken in his criticism of Chimaev, adding fuel to an interesting rivalry.

Sean Strickland Blasts Khamzat Chimaev

The US-born Sean Strickland has had a rollercoaster career in the UFC. Known for his striking ability and controversial personality, Strickland shocked the MMA world by defeating Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight title at UFC 293 in September 2023. He would later lose the crown to Dricus du Plessis and the two are set to rematch at UFC 312 on February 9, 2025.

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‘Borz’ Khamzat Chimaev has been one of the most dominant forces in the UFC since his debut. Undefeated in his career, Chimaev’s most recent victory came against former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. He is widely expected to challenge the winner of the du Plessis vs. Strickland rematch for the title later this year. But mainly claim that Chimaev deserved a title shot more than Strickland did.

Strickland has also been vocal outside the Octagon, stirring controversy with his unfiltered opinions. In a recent interview, the US-born athlete said regarding Khamzat Chimaev:

“Look at the history of Chimaev, he flees his country and goes to Sweden and has this nice prosperous life with all the normal folks and then he goes back to Chechnya or wherever the f–k he’s from and he goes and gets balls deep with this dictator. The dictator is like ‘Here’s a G-wagon go train my kid and let my kid beat you up’ and Chimaev’s like ‘I signed up to be a prostitute, but you’re going too deep here’…now he has some fear for his life from this dictator, and he’s still owned….you have no dignity and you have no character.”

The animosity between Strickland and Chimaev extends beyond competition. He criticized Chimaev for fleeing Chechnya for Sweden before allegedly aligning himself with Kadyrov upon returning to Chechnya. Strickland accused him of being “owned” by the Chechen administration.

With his sights firmly set on championship gold, Khamzat Chimaev’s next move depends on the outcome of UFC 312. For Strickland, his focus is reclaiming the middleweight title at UFC 312. A victory against du Plessis would likely set up a blockbuster fight against Chimaev. Whether their differences are settled through words or fists remains to be seen.

Sean Strickland Slams Khamzat Chimaev Over Crypto Scandal: ‘I Don’t Look at You Like a Man’

Known for his outspoken personality, UFC athlete Sean Strickland recently targeted Khamzat Chimaev during media interviews. He criticized ‘Borz’…

Known for his outspoken personality, UFC athlete Sean Strickland recently targeted Khamzat Chimaev during media interviews. He criticized ‘Borz’ Khamzat Chimaev’s character. Strickland has recently attacked Chimaev for his fighting style and also for his involvement in a cryptocurrency scandal.

Sean Strickland Condemns Khamzat Chimaev

Currently top-ranked in the middleweight division, Khamzat Chimaev is eyeing a title shot in 2025. However, his reputation took a hit due to allegations of involvement in a cryptocurrency scam. Right now, the title is tied up as Dricus Du Plessis will look to defend his crown against Sean Strickland at UFC 312.

Former champion Sean Strickland has earned his reputation as a durable striker. Chimaev has quickly risen through the ranks with dominant performances, including victories over Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, and most recently, Robert Whittaker.

The SMASH Coin Controversy

Khamzat Chimaev faced significant backlash after promoting a cryptocurrency called “SMASH” on his social media platforms. The coin was named after his catchphrase and was marketed as an investment opportunity for fans.

However, blockchain analysts discovered that insiders associated with the coin had purchased nearly 78% of its supply before its public launch. This led to accusations of a “pump-and-dump” scheme.

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In a recent interview, Sean Strickland said:

“I don’t even consider Chimaev a man, let me tell you why. That little crypto scam he had going on, I had someone approach me and say ‘Sean, I’ll give you $200k right from the start and I’ll give you 30-40% of this, we want to make a coin of you’. The moment they said that I was like you’re a f–g con artist, piece of s–t.

“I’m not going to do that I don’t give a f-k if I make a half million dollar, [or] a million dollars, I’m not going to do f–g that. What did Chimaev say [nods head]. I’m going to f–k my fans over. Chimaev can you fight, can you wrestle, sure, but I don’t look at you like a man.”

As Sean Strickland prepares for his title rematch against South Africa’s Du Plessis at UFC 312, he continues to call out Khamzat Chimaev for what he perceives as character flaws. Meanwhile, Chimaev is focused on securing his first UFC title shot later in 2025. Whether they eventually meet in the octagon or continue their rivalry through words remains to be seen.

UFC’s Sean Strickland in Awe of Alex Pereira “Came from literally nothing and made a life for himself … The American Dream”

Two of the most prominent figures in the UFC, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira, have forged an unexpected bond….

Two of the most prominent figures in the UFC, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira, have forged an unexpected bond. What began as a brutal first-round knockout at UFC 276 has evolved into a collaboration. Their contrasting personalities simply add to the appeal. The US-born Strickland explains how impressed he is with the career of ‘Poatan.’

Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira

The story of Strickland and Pereira began at UFC 276 in July 2022. At the time, Sean Strickland was riding a six-fight winning streak and was considered one of the top contenders in the middleweight division. Alex Pereira, a former kickboxing world champion, was still relatively new to the UFC but carried immense hype.

In their fight, Alex Pereira delivered a devastating first-round knockout with his signature left hook. The loss was a humbling moment for Strickland, who later admitted that he underestimated Pereira’s power. For Pereira, the victory propelled him into title contention and eventually led to him capturing the UFC Middleweight Championship just months later.

Strickland took an unconventional path. He sought out Pereira as a training partner. Over time, Sean Strickland and ‘Poatan’ Alex Pereira have trained together extensively, helping each other prepare for major fights. Despite their contrasting personalities, Strickland being outspoken and brash while Pereira is stoic and reserved, the two have developed a strong camaraderie.

Pereira has spoken highly of Strickland’s work ethic and skills, while Strickland has expressed deep respect for Pereira’s journey. “You have to have respect for Alex,” Strickland said in an interview. “Where did that man come from? A tire shop, dude. He came from literally nothing and made a life for himself. As an American, Alex is kind of the American dream,” he said to MMA Junkie.

‘Poatan’ grew up in poverty and worked in a tire shop as a teenager. Struggling with alcoholism at one point, he turned his life around through kickboxing, eventually becoming a two-division champion in Glory Kickboxing before transitioning to MMA. Ultimately, he would become a two-division UFC champion.

Alex Pereira will corner Sean Strickland during his rematch against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 on February 8, 2025.