Sean Strickland has a last-minute secret weapon for Dricus Du Plessis later tonight (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) at UFC 297 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as he defends his UFC middleweight title in the main event.
While it’s not the knife Strickland warned he’d use at UFC 297’s press conference on Thursday, UFC’s middleweight champion has recruited former opponent and current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira to help corner him.
This is according to a report by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, shown below:
Sean Strickland will have a surprise addition by his side tonight at #UFC297.
Sources told ESPN that UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will be in Strickland’s corner for the middleweight title main event against Dricus Du Plessis.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) January 21, 2024
The addition of Pereira in the corner of Strickland may seem odd to some, but the two fighters have become close friends since they fought back in July 2022. They met at UFC 276 and the outcome was a vicious first-round knockout finish by “Poatan.” The win propelled Pereira into his middleweight title fight with Israel Adesanya and the rest is history.
On Saturday, Pereira will join Strickland’s corner and try to help him defend his middleweight title for the very first time. Strickland won the belt from Adesanya with a shocking decision victory back at UFC 293 in Sept. 2023. This fight camp has been particularly difficult for Strickland due to Du Plessis’ comments about his father. Bringing a fighter like Pereira into his corner is only going to aid Strickland in his chances to hand Du Plessis his first UFC loss.
What do you think? Will Pereira’s corner work help Strickland’s chances against Du Plessis?
Let us know!
For complete UFC 297 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.