Daniel Cormier has given his take on the growing partnership between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira and former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland. He recently cautioned Pereira about overextending himself.
Pereira is set to defend his title for the fourth time against former title challenger Magomed Ankalaev on March 8 at UFC 313. Meanwhile, Strickland is scheduled to compete for the 185-pound belt in a rematch against current champion Dricus du Plessis on February 8 at UFC 312.
"Poatan" will be in Strickland’s corner for the fight, marking the second time he has taken on that role.
He was also part of Strickland’s team at UFC 297, where the American lost the middleweight title to du Plessis via a close split decision. Pereira and Strickland formed a friendship after their fight in 2022, which the Brazilian won by knockout.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier highlighted the depth of their bond.
We don’t know what those training sessions look like, but I think what you don’t understand as people on the outside is it’s more than just the training,” Cormier said. “It’s the bond that’s built outside of the training. How much time are these guys spending together to build a relationship once they are outside of the gym? This, to me, tells me that Pereira and Strickland are building a relationship that’s very strong. Why? Because we already know that Pereira has a fight on the books. Las Vegas. UFC 313.
What we do know is that Alex Pereira is going to be fighting a guy who could be his most formidable opponent because of the style. But we also have to take into effect that his relationship with Strickland is so strong that he’s willing to travel across the world to corner him. To me, it seems dangerous. To me, it seems risky for Alex to go all the way to Australia knowing everything that goes into a training camp and how hard that travel can be on your body when you’re preparing to continue to defend your world championship. So how strong is that bond? How much does Sean Strickland now mean to Alex Pereira for him to take that risk? Because trust me, it is a risk.
