“I Think Sean’s Time Has Come…”: Rival Turned Friend Alex Pereira Heaps Praise on Sean Strickland Following His Humongous Victory Over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293

UFC 293 witnessed the surprising victory of Sean Strickland over two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. ‘Tarzan’ left the fans dumbfounded with a dominant performance; however, there was someone who was hardly surprised about how the bout turned out. That’s none other than the biggest rival of ‘Stylebender’, Alex Pereira. ‘Poatan’ had predicted the outcome of UFC 293 and the bout took place exactly as he had anticipated. After dominating the entire bout, ‘Tarzan’ won the monumental clash after the judges unanimously scored the contest in his favor.

Even though it was a unanimous decision victory, the majority agreed with the decision of the judges, as Strickland was clearly dominating the bout. Pereira and Adesanya are two of the biggest rivals in the history of combat sports. The two have come face-to-face four times [two times in kickboxing and two times in MMA], and Pereira prevailed in three of those meetings. The former UFC middleweight champion is someone who knew how to defeat ‘Izzy’, and he was sure that Strickland could do it. Recently, Pereira detailed his take on the bout and praised ‘Tarzan’.

Alex Pereira has great words to say about Sean Strickland

After the bout between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya, ‘Poatan’ took to his YouTube channel to detail the bout between Strickland and Adesanya. Pereira said, “I want to congratulate Sean Strickland. He did an amazing job and I’m really happy for the change in the division’s champion. I think Sean’s time has come and it’s not likely that another [to take it away]. “

Pereira praised ‘Tarzan’ for his calculative moves against Adesanya. He mentioned that Strickland was smart and had amazing defense throughout the bout. According to Pereira, the new middleweight champion walked less, circled more, and landed perfect strikes on his opponent. He was way too impressed by how ‘Tarzan’ attacked Adesanya in the best possible way.

‘Poatan’ already knew it

Interestingly, Pereira and Strickland are former rivals who came face-to-face at UFC 276. The bout took place in July 2022, and back then, it was Pereira who won the fight by knocking out Strickland in the very first round. Even after winning a glorious victory over Strickland, Pereira was sure that he had the skills to defeat Adesanya. Pereira even trained with Strickland and helped him defeat ‘Stylebender’.

READ MORE: “True Friendship and Brotherhood Right There…”: Chris Curtis’ Wholesome Reaction to Best Friend Sean Strickland Winning the Middleweight Championship Leaves Fans Emotional

When the Brazilian fighter made his predictions, no one believed him, as the majority was convinced that the Nigerian-born fighter was going to win. Soon after Adesanya’s loss, Pereira took to his social media handle to congratulate Strickland. He mentioned how nobody believed him when he said Strickland was going to win. Later, he tagged the newly crowned champion and said that he totally deserved it. Do you think that Strickland is a better fighter than Israel Adesanya? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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