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Alex Pereira is happy to give Sean Strickland his flowers after a wild upset victory this past weekend.
It’s officially Strickland’s world, and we’re all just living in it post-UFC 293. The outspoken Anaheim, Calif. native walked down the now-former two-time champion Israel Adesanya on relatively short notice in — what was on paper enemy territory in Sydney, Australia — and came out with his hand raised via a stunningly impressive one-sided unanimous decision.
Odds and performance-wise, Strickland’s crowning moment is one of the biggest upsets in UFC history as he closed at +350 as an underdog to Adesanya’s -770 favorite. Just one year prior, Strickland was on the cusp of earning his first career title shot until he ran face-first into the brick-like punches of Brazil’s Pereira. “Poatan” went on to become a champion off the win and eventually linked up with “Tarzan” along the way. However, he doesn’t want to take any credit for the win despite the history he has with both of the division’s most recent title holders.
“I spent a few days training with Sean Strickland, and I got to see how talented he is,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “His strategies, how tough he is, I got a better understanding of this from training than actually fighting him. It was totally different because anyone who trains, who fights, knows how it is. During practice, we have more room to play around and that’s what I was able to pick up from him and that’s why I was so sure he was gonna win.
“Let me clarify, I had nothing to do with [his win], okay? He won on his own. It’s totally his success because he’s such a dedicated guy with a unique style and he really showed us what he’s got in his fight with Adesanya. So, the credit is all his. I had nothing to do with it despite the days he spent training with me. We didn’t train a lot but we had some good talks that might have made a difference. Not only for this fight but for his career in general and mine, too.”
