“You’re Kind of Interfering” – Alex Pereira Gets a Hard Hitting Reminder on Cornering Sean Strickland for UFC 312 Fight

As Sean Strickland aims to win back the middleweight title at UFC 312 after defeating Dricus Du Plessis, he will be receiving some extra help. For the unversed, Alex Pereira, the 205lbs god-king has decided he will corner ‘Tarzan’ and help him achieve his goal. The latter is surely thankful as he revealed, “He [Pereira] said he’s down. He’s a good dude, man.” Now, UFC fans would absolutely love to see the Brazilian corner his former rival in Australia, but will it affect his own performance?

You see, ‘Poatan’ is scheduled to fight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, which is in March. That means, if Pereira really corners Strickland, he will have to travel to Australia and come back at a time that is of utmost importance for his own fight preparation. And so, in case you were worried about the same issue, let us tell you, you are not alone!

Pereira’s decision has been questioned by UFC veteran Josh Thomson on his ‘Weighing In’ podcast. What did he say? Well, as per him:

“For Poatan, I think with him it’s that he never stops training. He’s never not training. It seemed like no matter where he goes and what he does. He steps into a room. If he is in Australia, he’ll go train somewhere over there. He may fly to New Zealand and get some work in with the City Kickboxing guys. Alex has probably got a ton of fighters over there. He can get some work in. It all also depends on how close were the fights.”

Although Thomson acknowledged that Pereira always finds ways to train, he emphasized the importance of the final weeks of preparation. “It’s next week, so they are already gone. So, they are probably already in Australia. A month apart [from UFC 313]. I mean, I think it’s right in that threshold. I think I probably wouldn’t have traveled either if it was in that month threshold. You’re kind of interfering with the last four weeks of camp.

“You are ramping up on week four. Week three and week two is your hard ramps. And then that last week is like your last hard sparring sessions, but you’re actually dialing it down. So you’re doing less but you’re going more intense,” Josh Thomson stated, while also emphasizing that the Brazilian would have been through training camps multiple times in his career and hence, he would know what he was getting into with his travel plans.

Even Daniel Cormier has weighed in on the situation, expressing concerns over Pereira’s last-minute travel ahead of his title showdown. With just one month left until UFC 313 on March 8, where Pereira will defend his 205lbs title against Magomed Ankalaev, Cormier shares similar worries about the timing of Pereira’s decision to help Strickland during his own fight camp.

Interestingly, Dricus Du Plessis, Strickland’s upcoming opponent, has also commented on the situation, adding his perspective to the conversation.

Dricus Du Plessis weighs in on Sean Strickland’s UFC 312 situation

During a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri, Dricus Du Plessis was asked what he made of Alex Pereira being in Sean Strickland’s corner ahead of their UFC 312 bout. The current middleweight champ couldn’t help but laugh, then gave his thoughts on the arrangement: “He [Alex Pereira] was in the corner [of Sean Strickland] in the first fight too. I mean, they don’t even speak the same language, it doesn’t really make much of a difference whether he’s in the corner or not. Strickland can barely understand his own coach, and he’s also American, how’s he going to understand Alex Pereira?”

The South African brings up a valid point. Despite being an accomplished fighter, Pereira still struggles with English even after a decade in the UFC. This means his advice will probably come more through actions than words. In a sport where communication is key, especially in the heat of the moment in a fight, the language barrier could present a challenge.

However, Pereira and Strickland became good friends after their UFC 276 encounter, and their bond may have created a unique understanding between them that transcends words. Moreover, the Brazilian also helped Strickland train for his title shot against Israel Adesanya, which ‘Tarzan’ surprisingly won.

So, the question remains: Did Alex Pereira make the right decision in sacrificing his own training to corner Strickland? Only time will tell. But what we do know is that Magomed Ankalaev, currently #1 in the light heavyweight division, will be a difficult opponent.

Both the fighters have ten KO/TKO wins in their MMA career so, it seems like a fight where one person is going to get knocked out. What do you think?