Dricus Du Plessis believes that Sean Strickland’s plan to boost his corner with Alex Pereira might backfire next week.
The middleweight world champion defends his belt at UFC 312 against Strickland, from whom he won it back in January of last year. Their first fight was a razor-close split decision, and the American has pulled out all the stops preparing for the rematch.
After solidifying his spot as the number one contender with a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 last June, he refused to fight again until getting a shot at gold. And he has drafted in former middleweight champion and current light-heavyweight title holder Pereira to assist in his corner.
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Sean Strickland drafts in Alex Pereira to corner at UFC 312
Since their fight back in July of 2022, Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira have become close friends and training partners at various intervals. Pereira won that fight by way of a brutal knockout, and has since played a part in adding to Strickland’s striking game.
And now the enigmatic light-heavyweight champion will be joining his former foe’s corner for the biggest fight of his career. One issue that has emerged is that Pereira famously speaks no English, and may not be able to communicate his thoughts through coach Eric Nicksick.
There are also questions about whether or not it is wise for Pereira, who fights in Las Vegas five weeks later, to be travelling around the world for what is essentially a publicity stunt. He is due to face Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 on March 8 and should be ramping up camp around now.
Sean Strickland warned Alex Pereira stunt ‘won’t work’ against Dricus Du Plessis
For his part, Dricus Du Plessis isn’t too concerned about what Pereira will bring to the corner. He joked during an interview with CBS Sport that the Brazilian was already in his last corner, noting that Strickland struggles to understand English at the best of times, let alone Portugese.
“He was in the corner in the first fight too,” Du Plessis explained when asked about the impact Pereira will have on the fight. “I mean, they don’t even speak the same language. It doesn’t really make much of a difference if he is or not.
“Strickland could barely understand his own coach who’s also American. How is he going to understand Alex Pereira?” Asked if it works in Strickland’s favor to have such a name in the corner, Du Plessis replied: “It doesn’t.”
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