UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira will have the help of an ex-opponent ahead of his return in Salt Lake City.
Pereira has had a bumper 2024 thus far, firmly putting himself in Fighter of the Year contention by recording consecutive successful title defenses in major main events at UFC 300 and UFC 303.
"Poatan" leapt to the promotion's rescue on both occasions, first when other avenues for the milestone April pay-per-view didn't come to fruition and then when Conor McGregor pulled out of International Fight Week on late notice.
The Brazilian boosted his stock at the expense of Jamahal Hill and Jiří Procházka, both of whom fell to the same violent fate to ensure Pereira's continued reign on the throne at 205 pounds.
And Pereira is far from done with his high level of activity. He's set to to return at the Utah-held UFC 307 event on October 5, a PPV he'll headline against a surprise challenger in the #8-ranked Khalil Rountree.
To prepare, "Poatan" is seeking help from a man who has not exactly seen eye to eye with Rountree in recent years...
Pereira Seeks Aid Of Former Opponent Strickland For UFC 307 Defense
Much is often said about the challenges of fighting in the conditions brought with it by Salt Lake City's elevation. As a result, fighters usually head out early to acclimatize.
That's currently the case for Pereira, whose latest YouTube video detailed his early training sessions in the "Beehive State" after arriving with his team a few weeks out from UFC 307. Among those with him is head coach Glover Teixeira, fellow UFC 307 fighter César Almeida, and his sister Aline Pereira.
That group will also soon be joined by much different character in former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Since "Poatan" knocked the American out back in 2022, the pair have formed a friendship and even trained together.
Pereira revealed during his video that Strickland is set to arrive in Salt Lake City to aid in his preparations this week.
While "Tarzan" has never shared the cage with Rountree, the pair do appear to have some animosity stemming from Strickland's reaction to "War Horse's" emotional post-fight speech at the Apex back in 2022.