Brazilian Trainers, Fighters Break Down Sean Strickland-Alex Pereira Bout at UFC 276

With two title bouts at the top of the card, UFC 276 is undoubtedly one of the years most highly-anticipated events.

But for the Brazilian audience, one fight is drawing even more attention than the two championship pairings. Given their past history in the kickboxing ring, there is a legitimate possibility that Alex Pereira could be next in line for a shot at Israel Adesanya’s middleweight belt if both men are victorious at UFC 276. As a result, Brazilian fans are intrigued by Pereira’s matchup with Sean Strickland, who enters Saturday’s event on a six-fight winning streak.

Ahead of “Poatan” vs. Strickland, several Brazilian trainers and fighters weighed in on the pivotal middleweight contest:

Bruno Silva: I really don’t like this Strickland guy. He just talks trash and disrespects opponents. I´m really cheering for ‘Poatan’ to take his head off. Not only because ‘Poatan’ defeated me, but for his respectful demeanor outside of the cage. That made me respect him even more after our fight. Also because I truly believe that, sooner or later, we will meet again. This time however, in a five-round fight for the belt.

Ronaldo Souza: Strickland is a very strange guy to fight against, but I believe ‘Poatan’ will come with a great strategy to beat him. I trained with ‘Poatan’ and showed some jiu-jitsu skills to him. This guy is like a sponge. He learns very fast and is very humble. All the ingredients to be a champion.

Rafael Cordeiro (Kings MMA head coach): Strickland went to Kings a couple of times and did tough sparring with [Marvin] Vettori. He is very hard to spar against. Long range, very aggressive, always walking forward. ‘Poatan’ is the favorite, but I don’t visualize an easy fight.

Fabricio Werdum: Strickland went to Kings a couple of times. One day I called him up to spar with me and he said no. After that, every time I saw him in Kings, I didn’t say hello, I just kicked his butt. A real fighter can't choose sparring partners. Many times, Beneil [Dariush], [Marvin] Vettori, and Kelvin Gastelum trained with me while I weighed 242 pounds. I believe he will try to take ‘Poatan’ down, but ‘Poatan’ will use his muay Thai to apply pressure and Strickland will [fight scared].

Mano Santana (Karate trainer of Pitbull brothers): I had the opportunity to spend some days with ‘Poatan’. Besides being a master of distance control and a gifted striker. ‘Poatan’ is really studious about fighting. This guy talks about fighting techniques from breakfast until when he goes to sleep. I believe Strickland is a very tough opponent, but a good match up for him.”

Paulo Filho: ‘Poatan’ needs to adapt to MMA a little more. He was just tested against strikers. I think Strickland is a good fight for him, since this guy is a brawler. A bad fight for him would be someone who wouldn't accept trading punches and take him down and control him on the ground. That's not the case with Strickland.

Vinicio Antony: ‘Poatan’ must control the distance and avoid brawls like he did with ‘Blindado’ and use his low kicks to bother Strickland … ‘Poatan’ is more technical. If he uses the right strategy, he may win easily, but if he repeats what he did against ‘Blindado,’ he may get knocked out or smashed in three rounds.