Alex Pereira is rooting for Sean Strickland to pull off the upset against Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) is a big underdog in Saturday’s UFC 328 (Paramount+) main event against middleweight champion Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Pereira has trained with Strickland in the past, and the pair linked up at the UFC Performance Institute recently.
“Before our fight, I saw him differently,” Pereira said of Strickland on UFC Countdown. “But once he stepped into the octagon, you could see it on his face. He was a different guy. He’s a warrior. The first time we trained together was after our fight, I learned a lot from those sessions. He’s got a lot of experience. He knows his craft.
“He’s always moving forward, firing that jab. That’s a great weapon he has. Everyone knows I’m rooting for Sean Strickland. He’s got to stay composed, keep pressing forward, stay alert, watch out for the takedowns, and use his jab and front kick. I’m really excited and motivated for this fight, and I hope he gets the win.”
Pereira knocked out Strickland at UFC 276 to earn his middleweight title shot. He wound up putting an end to Israel Adesanya‘s dominant reign when he finished him by TKO at UFC 281.
Now, Pereira is chasing a belt in a third division when he takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner on June 14 from the White House in Washington D.C.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 328: Alex Pereira advises Sean Strickland after training with him