Tag: UFC 312

Dricus Du Plessis Scoffs At Alex Pereira Cornering Sean Strickland At UFC 312: ‘Doesn’t Really Make A Difference’

Dricus Du Plessis believes Alex Pereira’s presence in Sean Strickland’s corner at UFC 312 won’t make a difference. Du Plessis is set to put his middleweight title on the line in a highly anticipated rematch against longtime rival Strickland, headlining UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, […]

Dricus Du Plessis believes Alex Pereira’s presence in Sean Strickland’s corner at UFC 312 won’t make a difference.

Du Plessis is set to put his middleweight title on the line in a highly anticipated rematch against longtime rival Strickland, headlining UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, disclosed earlier this week that reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Pereira will lend his seasoned expertise to the outspoken fighter as he eyes a second shot at the 185-pound title.

Pereira himself is preparing to put his belt on the line for the fourth time against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313, set for March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After Pereira knocked out Strickland at UFC 276 in 2022, the two formed a camaraderie and regularly train alongside each other. UFC 312 will mark the second time “Poatan” corners Strickland, having previously been in his corner at UFC 297, where the American lost his title to Du Plessis in a gritty split decision.

During a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, “Stillknocks” laughed off Pereira cornering Strickland at UFC 312, dismissing it as a non-factor. He pointed to the Brazilian’s presence at UFC 297, where Strickland still lost.

“He was in the corner in the first fight too,” Du Plessis said. “I mean, they don’t even speak the same language. It doesn’t really make it much of a difference whether he’s in the corner or not. Strickland could barely understand his own coach who’s also American. How is he going to understand Alex Pereira [laughs]?”

After capturing the middleweight title in January last year, Du Plessis has defended it once, securing a submission victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August.

Meanwhile, Strickland has stepped into the Octagon just once since losing the belt, edging out Paulo Costa via split decision at UFC 303 last June.

Sean Strickland To Dricus Du Plessis: ‘You’re A Wrecking Ball, I’m A F**king Scalpel’

Sean Strickland is confident that he can improve upon his performance at UFC 297 in order to reclaim the middleweight title. After shocking the world by beating Israel Adesanya for the belt at UFC 293, Strickland’s first title defence came in January last year against Dricus Du Plessis. The fight came right down to the […]

Sean Strickland is confident that he can improve upon his performance at UFC 297 in order to reclaim the middleweight title. After shocking the world by beating Israel Adesanya for the belt at UFC 293, Strickland’s first title defence came in January last year against Dricus Du Plessis.

The fight came right down to the wire with the judges scoring the fight in favor of the challenger, seeing Du Plessis become the new champion via a split decision. Strickland has developed a trademark style in recent years which has led to many questioning what he can do differently in his rematch with the South African at UFC 312 on February 8.

Whilst “Stillknocks” has a wide variety of attacks at his disposal, Strickland is very much the opposite with the former champ utilizing a fairly straight forward approach that relies heavily on defense and pressure. He recognizes that Du Plessis is a good opponent but he believes that the two men simply have different approaches, rather than one having the advantage over the other.

In an interview with Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie, the challenger spoke about what he expects from his main event clash in Australia.

“It comes down to what I said [before about] f***ing Dricus [du Plessis] on that short bus. I respect him for it. He goes f***ing full send… But you know, you’re a wrecking ball, I’m a f***ing scalpel. It just comes down to who’s better.”

The big question heading into the title fight rematch is whether Strickland can make small adjustments to his game plan in order to make it more effective the second time around. Having had his moments in their first encounter, he’s clearly confident that he will get his hand raised at the second time of asking.

”Last time I think I was better. This time, I think I’m gonna f***ing piece you apart. Your face will look the exact same after (as last fight) if not worse.”

Sean Strickland Praises Opponent-Turned-Friend Alex Pereira’s Journey: ‘The American Dream’

Sean Strickland is going to have one of his former opponents in his corner once again when he returns at UFC 312. The former middleweight champion has struck up a great relationship with Alex Pereira ever since the two men faced each other inside the Octagon at UFC 276 in 2022. Strickland’s head coach, Eric […]

Sean Strickland is going to have one of his former opponents in his corner once again when he returns at UFC 312. The former middleweight champion has struck up a great relationship with Alex Pereira ever since the two men faced each other inside the Octagon at UFC 276 in 2022.

Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, recently confirmed that “Poatan” will be a part of his coaching staff on February 8 in Australia when he takes on Dricus Du Plessis in a rematch for the 185-pound gold. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Strickland told Mike Bohn that having Pereira step in was his idea.

“Alex was out there and I asked him like, ‘You’re out there, if you’re free, come on through’. I asked Eric as well and he said he’s down. He’s a good f****** dude. He has a tough fight coming up with Ankalaev and if he needs me for that to help, I’ll be out there helping him so it kind of goes mutual.”

The most surprising element of this is that whilst Pereira has cornered Strickland in the past, he has his own huge fight coming up the following month at UFC 313 in Las Vegas. His opponent on that night, Magomed Ankalaev, has also spent some time training with Strickland at Xtreme Couture in the fight capital but this hasn’t been the case for his recent camps.

Strickland said that with that in mind, there isn’t a conflict of interests when it comes to choosing which guy to help out.

“Alex has gone out of his way to help me. Me and Ankalaev, we have this mutual respect in the same place and Ankalaev’s a great guy but if Alex needs me after this fight, I’ll be going to Connecticut to give him some work.”

When asked about what Pereira brings to the table as a cornerman for his upcoming title fight, Strickland spoke more about the character of the light heavyweight champion than anything else. He values the Brazilian as someone that he would fight alongside in the street and having those kinds of people make the walk with him is an asset.

Strickland stated that the friendship between him and Pereira doesn’t even run that deep but there is a lot of respect between them. He spoke about how it’s impossible to not be impressed and inspired by what “Poatan” has been able to accomplish after turning his life around to become a huge star in combat sports after finding himself in a rough spot.

“Dude, we’re not even that close. We don’t even speak the same language, he doesn’t speak English. It’s more of like and you got to have respect for Alex. Like dude, where did that man come from? A tire shop, dude. He came from literally nothing and has made a life for himself. As an American, Alex is kind of the American dream. Likes guns. You know, as an American, you have to have respect for someone with that kind of drive and dedication.”

Alex Pereira To Corner Sean Strickland For UFC 312 Title Challenge In Sydney

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland will have a familiar face in his corner in Australia early next month. Strickland is set to headline the promotion’s second pay-per-view of the new year, UFC 312 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Feb. 8. There, he will look to exact revenge on Dricus Du Plessis […]

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland will have a familiar face in his corner in Australia early next month.

Strickland is set to headline the promotion’s second pay-per-view of the new year, UFC 312 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Feb. 8. There, he will look to exact revenge on Dricus Du Plessis and win back the 185-pound gold.

The polarizing American will be back at the venue inside of which he became champ in September 2023 by outpointing Israel Adesanya. He’ll hope to repeat that feat in a rematch with Du Plessis, who brought “Tarzan’s” reign to an end in its first defense 12 months ago.

And in his bid to reclaim the throne, Strickland is employing the help of a prominent former opponent-turned-occasional training partner.

“We will have Alex Pereira in the corner, so dropping the news right now,” coach Eric Nicksick said told The Schmo.. “He’s a good friend of Sean. He’s a great training partner. Obviously, these guys have fought, but after the fight, I think it takes a man to go and learn from the guy who caught you with something.”

Pereira and Strickland shared the cage in the summer of 2022, with “Poatan” violently stopping the latter in the first round to secure his title shot opposite Israel Adesanya later in the year.

The pair have since formed a friendship and have frequently been seen training together. The Brazilian has also cornered his ex-opponent in the past, assuming the role for Strickland’s narrow defeat to Du Plessis in Canada last January.

Will Dricus Du Plessis Make Sean Strickland Cry Again? The Champ Answers ‘Put You in Your Place’

Will Dricus Du Plessis Make Sean Strickland Cry Again? The Champ Answers 'Put You in Your Place'Dricus Du Plessis will gladly put Sean Strickland in his place, if necessary. … Again. The last time around,…

Will Dricus Du Plessis Make Sean Strickland Cry Again? The Champ Answers 'Put You in Your Place'

Dricus Du Plessis will gladly put Sean Strickland in his place, if necessary. … Again.

The last time around, ‘DDP’ scored a closely contested split decision victory over Strickland to claim the UFC middleweight championship. More than a year later, they’ll run it back when the promotion heads back to Sydney, Australia for UFC 312 inside the Quodos Bank Arena.

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Perhaps even more memorable than their fight was an awkward moment during the UFC 297 press conference when Du Plessis had Strickland in tears after bringing the former titleholder’s traumatizing childhood into their intense back-and-forth.

Months later, Du Plessis would have tears streaming from the eyes of Israel Adesanya ahead of their UFC 307 headliner in August.

Dricus du Plessis refuses to be bullied

Despite his clear penchant for making his opponents emotional, Du Plessis revealed in a recent interview with Niko Pajarillo of Fox Sports Australia that it’s never his goal to be disrespectful or make things personal. But if his opponents decide to dish it out, they better be prepared to take it back 10-fold.

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“I just know my opponent inside and out,” Du Plessis said of Strickland. ‘Now, when it comes to me and fighting, this is my life. This is everything to me. I know everything there is to know.

“I don’t go to any press conference to say, ‘I’m going to say this, this is what I’m going to say to you to get under your skin.’ I give you the chance to be respectful, and if you try to bully me, try to be disrespectful, and try to be smart, I will put you in your place. And now, with Strickland this time around, maybe, you know, maybe that’s all he knows to do.”

Report: No Backups Set For UFC 312 Title Fights Despite Late Scramble To Save UFC 311 Main Event

Dana White and co. will have their fingers crossed that there isn’t a repeat of the late withdrawal in Los Angeles earlier this month when the promotion heads Down Under for UFC 312. After opening its pay-per-view schedule for 2025 with UFC 311 from Inglewood’s Intuit Dome, the mixed martial arts leader is taking the […]

Dana White and co. will have their fingers crossed that there isn’t a repeat of the late withdrawal in Los Angeles earlier this month when the promotion heads Down Under for UFC 312.

After opening its pay-per-view schedule for 2025 with UFC 311 from Inglewood’s Intuit Dome, the mixed martial arts leader is taking the Octagon abroad for a return to Australia in February.

Two names familiar to the attending Aussie fanbase will compete inside Qudos Bank Arena, with last year’s Sydney headliner, Dricus Du Plessis, meeting 2023’s main event victor in the city, Sean Strickland.

Their middleweight championship rematch won’t be the only title fight on the UFC 312 card, with strawweight queen Zhang Weili also set to defend her throne opposite undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez.

While anticipation is building for those contests, fans will be well aware that no matchup is certain to go down until the cage door closes behind the athletes.

That much was evident a few weeks back when Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of the UFC 311 main event, forcing the promotion to find a new foe for Islam Makhachev on just 24 hours’ notice. The Dagestani ultimately faced Renato Moicano, whom he steamrolled in minutes.

Disappointment was evident when the highly awaited second clash between Makhachev and Tsarukyan fell through, but that scenario hasn’t convinced the UFC to make additional arrangements for the second PPV of the year.

Per MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin, no fighters are currently expected to make the long-haul flight to Australia to serve as backup for the UFC 312 main or co-main events.

The organization has often paid contenders to hit the scale as alternative options should injury or illness strike late in the day. But that hasn’t been the case since Tom Aspinall did so back at UFC 309 in November.

Backups were neither present for Alexandre Pantoja’s title defense at UFC 310 against Kai Asakura nor the pair of championship clashes on Jan. 18. UFC 312 will now make it three PPVs on the bounce in that regard.