City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman doesn’t know if Alex Pereira beating Sean Strickland would be enough for a title shot.
Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will get a big leap up in competition when he faces Strickland (25-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) on July 2 at UFC 276 on the same night that middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defends his title against Jared Cannonier.
With Pereira holding two kickboxing wins over Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC), beating the streaking Strickland could result in a rubber match in MMA. However, Bareman thinks just three octagon wins for Pereira would make it too soon.
