Commentator Daniel Cormier has much to say about Alex Pereira cornering Sean Strickland at UFC 312.
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has revealed he will be cornering Strickland at his upcoming rematch battle with Dricus Du Plessis, but many, like Daniel Cormier, don’t think this is a good idea. “Poatan” is set to face Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in Las Vegas shortly before cornering for Strickland, but Cormier believes the champ may be a taking dangerous risk as the fighter will be overextending himself by doing so.
“What we also have to take into effect is that Pereira feels that his relationship with Strickland is so strong that he’s willing to travel across the world to corner him. To me, it seems dangerous. To me, it seems risky for Alex to go all the way to Australia, knowing everything that goes into a training camp and how hard that travel can be on your body when you’re preparing to continue to defend your world championship. So, how strong is that bond? How much does Sean Strickland now mean to Alex Pereira for him to take that risk? Because trust me guys: It is a risk.”
“To add to that the travel, different time zone, the sleep patterns and sleep schedule, it’s difficult,” Cormier said. “It’s difficult to add that. So to me, Sean Strickland must be one of Alex Pereira’s best friends because you don’t do that for just anything, anybody. Now one thing I won’t do is question Alex. I’m done. I won’t question whether or not he can wrestle, I won’t question any of that anymore because he has proven it time and time again that whatever he is doing is right and it’s allowed for him to become one of the greatest fighters of all time.
“Yes, he is one of the greatest fighters of all time – in the shortest amount of time I have ever seen anyone building a legacy that is that strong or a resume that is that strong. Never seen it. I’ve never seen someone do what Pereira has done, and he’s a free spirit and maybe that free spirit allows for him to be as good as he’s been. This dude’s the man, and if he gets through this next challenge, if he gets through Ankalaev, I’m going on the record and saying that light heavyweight is going to have a ‘Poatan’ problem for a really long time.”
Cormier believes the fighters formed this bond after their fight in 2022, where Pereira won KO. Since then, the two have been close training partners and have been friends, with Pereira being a part of Strickland’s team at UFC 297 when he faced Dricus du Plessis.
“We don’t know what those training sessions look like, but I think what you don’t understand as people on the outside is it’s more than just the training,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “It’s the bond that’s built outside of the training. How much time are these guys spending together to build a relationship once they are outside of the gym? This, to me, tells me that Pereira and Strickland are building a relationship that’s very strong. Why? Because we already know that Alex Pereira has a fight on the books: Las Vegas, UFC 313. What we do know is that Alex Pereira is going to be fighting a guy who could be his most formidable opponent because of the style.”
