SALT LAKE CITY – Alex Pereira thinks Sean Strickland has what it takes to dethrone Israel Adesanya.
Strickland could be on tap to challenge middleweight champion Adesanya next at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. Adesanya’s lone setback at 185 pounds came in a knockout loss against Pereira at UFC 281, which he later avenged with a knockout of his own to reclaim the belt at UFC 287.
Pereira proved Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) isn’t invincible at 185 pounds and sees Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) as someone who can pull the upset.
“Fighting Israel Adesanya is always a hard fight, but he showed that he can be beaten,” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC 291 media day. “Sean Strickland, he has a chance. Different game plans are hard. But if anyone has a chance against Adesanya, that’ll be Sean Strickland. But it’s still a hard fight.”
Dricus Du Plessis emerged as a No. 1 contender with a TKO of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, but Pereira doesn’t rate his chances highly against Adesanya.
“Honestly, man, I don’t know if it’s maybe too much for Du Plessis because Adesanya’s way superior,” Pereira said. “Looking at this fight overall, it’s a fight that does not even make too much sense to me.”
Pereira, who knocked Strickland out at UFC 276 to earn his first title shot, now is training with him. Based on the time they’ve spent together, Pereira likes Strickland’s chances over Du Plessis.
“One-hundred percent,” Pereira said. “One hundred-percent. If Sean Strickland put in the work, he should (win that fight).”
Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) makes his light heavyweight debut against former champion Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 291 co-headliner at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
