Sean Strickland thinks Alex Pereira is the second coming of Chuck Liddell.
At UFC 320, “Poitan” regained the 205-pound title with an incredible 80-second KO win over Magomed Ankalaev in the night’s headliner.
Strickland, who knows a thing or two about Pereira’s power, likened “Poitan” to another UFC light heavyweight legend in an interview with MMA Junkie.
“That guy’s got a killer punch, dude,” Strickland said. “Fuck you. Like Ankalaev, he came to train with us and he’s damn good. But like Alex has that once-in-a-lifetime thing. Like Chuck Liddell had. Some guys have that killer punch. That’s Alex. And I’ll give you an example.”
“So, I’m sparring with Alex in Connecticut, and there’s a hell of a war going on, dude,” Strickland continued. “We’ve had three hard rounds and somehow managed to avoid getting hit with any big shots, and I’m walking away looking really exhausted. I’m walking away feeling really good. And they bring in this pretty high-level wrestler and this guy just beats the hell out of Alex in the fourth round. I’m telling you, this guy is refreshing.”
“Me and Alex just had a three-round fucking war. This guy punches Alex, throws overhands, puts him in the cage, and about halfway through the round, Alex touches him with an uppercut and the round ends. And Alex just – I mean, you could blow the shit on him and flip him over, that kind of power. It’s just – I mean, you’re like, what do you mean? I think you’re a huge 6-foot-4 fucking Brazilian.”
It remains to be seen what Pereira will do next, but it appears that a chance to become the first three-division champion in UFC history could be in the plans.