Sean Strickland is out for revenge.
But in order to secure a rematch against newly-crowned middleweight champion Alex Pereira, Strickland will first have to get past former title challenger Jared Cannonier atop the UFC Vegas 66 card later this month at the APEX facility in Las Vegas.
Just don’t expect anything different the second time around.
“The guy f*cking hits hard, dude,” Strickland told MMA Junkie. “That motherf*cker, he has dynamite in his hands but got to get a couple wins under my belt, and hopefully he’s still the champ and we’ll run it back. I’ll give you guys a pointer: You stand in front of that motherf*cker and bang, somebody is going to sleep and it’s most likely going to be you. If I fight the guy again, I’d do the same f*cking thing. Just put this (right) hand a little more (up).”
He may want to put that hand a lot more up.
Strickland (25-4) battled Pereira at UFC 276 last summer in “Sin City” and despite the Brazilian’s advantage on the feet — and disadvantage on the ground — “Tarzan” opted to stand and bang, going down in flames midway through the opening frame.
Those who don’t learn from their mistakes …