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Coach rules Sean Strickland from ‘Nightmare’ rematch with UFC star Alex Pereira

Coach rules Sean Strickland from 'Nightmare' rematch with UFC star Alex Pereira Amid links to a potential one-time return to his former middleweight stomping ground, Alex Pereira would be a “nightmare”…

Amid links to a potential one-time return to his former middleweight stomping ground, Alex Pereira would be a “nightmare” re-run for fellow former divisional champion, Sean Strickland according to his own head coach, Eric Nicksick.

Pereira, a former undisputed middleweight gold holder and the current light heavyweight champion, weighed up a spectacular one-time return to 185lbs over the course of last weekend, in direct response to Dricus du Plessis’ submission win over common-foe, Israel Adesanya.

Already booked for his next outing in the Octagon, Sao Paulo knockout ace, Pereira is slated to headline UFC 307 at the beginning of October, taking on the surging, Khalil Rountree in his third appearance of the year.

Furthermore, with Pereira weighing up a potential divisional drop, the above-mentioned, Strickland could prospectively find himself linked to a rematch with the Brazilian – although he is likely to challenge du Plessis in a title rematch according to UFC boss, Dana White.

Alex Pereira rematch billed a “nightmare” for Sean Strickland

Fighting him back in 2022, Strickland dropped a stunning opening round knockout loss to Pereira in a title-eliminator clash at middleweight. However, if coach Nicksick has any say in the matchmaking, he has no wish to see his student tackle the berserker.

“That’s a nightmare,” Eric Nicksick told Submission Radio of a rematch between Sean Strickland, and Alex Pereira. “That’s a nightmare, to relive that all over again. Just stay up there at 205 (pounds), man, do your thing up there. We’re good.”

Sidelined since he headlined UFC 303 at the end of June during International Fight Week, Pereira turned in a stunning second round high-kick knockout win over two-time foe, Jiri Prochazka in the pair’s title rematch in Las Vegas.

Coach rules Sean Strickland from ‘Nightmare’ rematch with UFC star Alex Pereira

Amid links to a potential one-time return to his former middleweight stomping ground, Alex Pereira would be a “nightmare”…

Alex Pereira rematch billed a “nightmare” for Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

The next middleweight title fight would appear to be a rematch of what fight fans saw take place over five rounds in the main event of UFC 297. Dricus Du Plessis won a split decision on that night in January to take the belt from Sean Strickland, following a back-and-forth encounter. After Strickland was able […]

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’ at MMA News.

The next middleweight title fight would appear to be a rematch of what fight fans saw take place over five rounds in the main event of UFC 297.

Dricus Du Plessis won a split decision on that night in January to take the belt from Sean Strickland, following a back-and-forth encounter.

After Strickland was able to bounce back with a win over Paulo Costa and Du Plessis defended the title against Israel Adesanya this past weekend, a rematch is on the cards.

Given how close it was the first time around, there likely isn’t going to be a big change made by either man that will drastically change the way this one plays out – and that’s how Strickland’s head coach sees it.

Eric Nicksick Says He Expects A Similar Fight With Small ‘Chess Match’ Adjustments

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Eric Nicksick spoke about his expectations for preparing Strickland to face Du Plessis for a second time.

He spoke about how the key to this fight will be focusing on small adjustments because they wouldn’t need to do much different to have won the first encounter.

“There are some things and I’ve said them publicly in the past but there are definitely some things that we went away from that would have helped negate that forward pressure and I still firmly believe had we stayed on those things, we would have won that fight and he didn’t do those things, Sean did not do those things. So, we need to get back to some small little changes.

“There’s some things on the ground that I think we can accomplish as well that I would like to revisit with Sean and yeah. I mean it wasn’t this crazy, crazy, ‘Oh dude, we got our a** kicked’. There was just some small little things but now the fun part is the chess match. What are they going to do to go back and make those adjustments and what are they going to expect us to make our adjustments on, and then there’s that little game of chess now. That’ll be the fun part.”

Nicksick also believes that this first fight is going to look very similar to the UFC 297 headliner because of the styles and toughness of both men.

He can’t see a way that it doesn’t end up being a test of both men’s wills when the going gets tough.

“You would love to say, ‘Oh, we’re gonna go in there and smoke this dude’ but Dricus, he’ll look awful and then he comes back and does his thing so you got to expect a knockdown drag out fight. 2-2 going into round five, hey we’re down to the last five minutes, we’re going to have to dig deep and figure out a way to get this fight, that’s how we have to train, that’s how we have to expect it. It’s going to be to the death.”

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’ at MMA News.

Khamzat Chimaev: Why Sean Strickland Should Be ‘Worried’ About His Title Shot, According to Daniel Cormier

Khamzat Chimaev may be able to jump the line and get a title shot ahead of Sean Strickland, says…

Khamzat Chimaev may be able to jump the line and get a title shot ahead of Sean Strickland, says UFC Hall of Fame athlete Daniel Cormier. The middleweight title is currently held by South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis but the contender lineup may not be as clear as we once thought.

Sean Strickland or Khamzat Chimaev?

According to UFC President Dana White, after UFC 305 the main event winner would next face the former champion Sean Strickland. Stillknocks’ Dricus Du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya, and therefore it lines up a rematch between the South African champion against Strickland. But, Daniel Cormier, former two-division champion, says to pump the brakes on this.

Sean Strickland Dricus Du Plessis — TORONTO, ONTARIO – JANUARY 20: Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa reacts after his victory against Sean Strickland in a UFC middleweight championship bout during the UFC 297 event at Scotiabank Arena on January 20, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Just because Dana White said it does not make it so. At UFC 308, the former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is set to face fan-favorite Khamzat Chimaev. If ‘Borz’ Chimaev is able to get an impressive victory, then he will likely jump the line and get the next title shot. According to Daniel Cormier, Khamzat Chimaev is a more marketable fight for the UFC.

Dana White unsure of Khamzat Chimaev's future every time he gets close to fighting he gets sick

Speaking with Chael Sonnen regarding Khamzat Chimaev and the middleweight title picture, Cormier explained:

“I think the worry for Sean Strickland, is he beat Paulo Costa, Robert Whittaker has also beaten Paulo Costa. [Whittaker’s] also beaten [Ikram]Aliskerov… if [Whittaker] puts Chimaev behind him, it would make a very compelling argument that [Whittaker] should be next. [Du Plessis] wants Whittaker to win. He needs him to win. Because the Robert Whittaker in the fight, how it played out between him and DDP. If Khamzat [Chimaev] wins now, now you have something to worry about.

“Because now you have this undefeated guy, who for so many years, we thought it was only a matter of time until he became a world champion. Khamzat immediately looked like a guy who would be a champion, you could see it, and that would make me concerned if I’m Sean Strickland…he shouldn’t feel so good, because when Dana [White] speaks, he may go ‘This guy’s next! This is who we have’. But there’s a tone to his voice that makes you believe that what he’s telling you is certain. I didn’t hear that tone, I didn’t hear that for-sure tone for Sean Strickland…so I do believe that there’s room for Chimaev to work his way in there.” [Ht BJPenn]

Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight

Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title at UFC 305 by submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in a back-and-forth encounter. Though he was able to secure the tap in the fourth round, it was the striking from “Stillknocks” that led to the finish. His unorthodox and sometimes reckless approach to moving through ranges whilst looking […]

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title at UFC 305 by submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in a back-and-forth encounter.

Though he was able to secure the tap in the fourth round, it was the striking from “Stillknocks” that led to the finish.

His unorthodox and sometimes reckless approach to moving through ranges whilst looking to land big punches found a home and hurt “The Last Stylebender” which was the beginning of the end.

On his YouTube channel, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley gave his immediate reaction to the main event where he highlighted Du Plessis’ blitz assault and gave props to both men.

“DDP has some funny a** like blitzes that just looks so sloppy and weird but he connects somehow and they’re heavy f****** punches and Izzy did look good. He looked like he was in good shape, defended that good takedown a few times. Like he said, he made a few small little mistakes. I mean I thought he was winning a decision, close fight. DDP showed why he’s the champ.”

Sean O’Malley Believes Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 2 Will Be Another Close Fight

In the aftermath of this past weekend’s event in Perth, it appears that the next time Du Plessis will be back inside the Octagon will be for his first rematch in the UFC.

The South African champion won the title by defeating Sean Strickland earlier this year in a split decision, that the American passionately believes he should have gotten.

O’Malley gave his thoughts on that fight having already seen how difficult it was to separate them at UFC 297.

“Sean Strickland is fighting the winner, we already knew that. DDP versus Sean Strickland 2, the first fight was very, very, very close, could have gave it to Sean Strickland. He was the champion at the time and I feel like if you’re going to beat the champ in a split decision, it’s got to be more dominant than that so that was a very, very close fight, that’s going to be a fun one to run back.”

“Suga” went on to say that he believes this particular match-up is won or lost by who performs better on that night due to their styles.

“I think those guys can fight 10 times, it’s a coin flip every time. I don’t think it’s going to be f****** one guy is going to dominate. Those two styles are just going to be whoever shows up better on that night.”

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight at MMA News.

Sean Strickland calls for Dricus du Plessis rematch after UFC 305: ‘Time for war Dutchman’

Former undisputed middleweight champion, Sean Strickland has already been pegged for a title rematch with Dricus du Plessis ahead…

Former undisputed middleweight champion, Sean Strickland has already been pegged for a title rematch with Dricus du Plessis ahead of UFC 305 overnight, however, now that the South African has prevailed, the ex-champion has made his feelings on an immediate rematch clear.

Strickland, the current number one ranked contender, most recently returned to winning ways in the co-main event of UFC 302 back in May in New Jersey, landing a decision win over former title challenger, Paulo Costa.

The win returned the former gold holder to winning-ways following a prior January loss to the above-mentioned, du Plessis at UFC 297 in January – in hugely controversial circumstances.

As for du Plessis, the Pretoria native continued his stunning, roughshod run through middleweight elites overnight in the main event of UFC 305 in Perth, settling his longstanding grudge with common-foe, Israel Adesanya.

Battling the City Kickboxing striker over the course of four rounds, du Plessis would land the first defense of the middleweight title – courtesy of a stunning rear-naked choke win, marking an end to their bitter feud in the wake of their matchup.

Dricus du Plessis called out by Sean Strickland at UFC 305

And while he has suggested a pairing with former champion and prior opponent, Robert Whittaker should come first, du Plessis has already been welcomed as a foe by a host of suitors – most notably, Sean Strickland.

“Time for war Dutchman,” Sean Strickland posted on his official X account in reaction to Dricus du Plessis’ win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

Time for war Dutch man……

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) August 18, 2024

And while Strickland has welcomed a rematch with du Plessis, the undisputed middleweight kingpin has already been sought out by incumbent light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira – who has vowed to return to his old stomping ground of 185lbs to make good on a title fight with the South African.