Although he’s fighting an unranked opponent next, Sean Strickland expects to emerge as a No. 1 contender with a win.
At UFC 277 on July 30, Strickland (25-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) meets former Glory Kickboxing dual-champion Alex Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s notched two wins since signing with the UFC in the fall of 2021.
Pereira only has a total of six professional MMA fights, but his storyline with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has given him a lot of steam. Pereira holds two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing: a unanimous decision in 2016, followed by a left hook knockout in their rematch in 2017.
