Sean Strickland on UFC 276 Defeat: ‘You Never Want to Be Someone’s Highlight’

Sean Strickland had a chance to cement himself as a title contender in the middleweight division at UFC 276. Instead, he became the latest victim of former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion Alex Pereira.

Strickland elected to stand and trade with his Brazilian opponent for the duration of their bout, a decision which cost him dearly. Pereira waited for his opening and then dropped Strickland to a knee with a left hook before sealing his victory with two follow-up right hands at the 2:36 mark of Round 1. Strickland was disappointed after the defeat but also felt like things were going his way prior to the finish.

“You never want to be someone’s highlight, but that’s the game we play,” Strickland said in a video on his Instagram account. “I tried to stand and bang with one of the best kickboxers. The s—-y part about it was that during the round, I was like, ‘Man, this is going to be an easy fight. I see everything this guy is throwing. I’m getting the better of the exchanges. I’m going to beat this guy up for three rounds.’ And then halfway through, I got caught.

“So hat’s off to Alex, he’s a f—-ing killer. Thank [you] all my coaches, sorry I didn’t get the win. It’s depressing, I’m going to be sad for a while. And fans, thank you for supporting me and on to the next one. It’s time to climb the ladder again.”

Prior to facing Pereira, Strickland had been victorious in his last six promotional appearances, earning notable triumphs over the likes of Jack Hermansson, Uriah Hall and Brendan Allen.

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