In a recent interview, former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland touched on Alex Pereira losing the 205-pound title to Magomed Ankalaev, and detailed what he thought the Brazilian could do differently if their rematch gets scheduled.
This past March at UFC 313, Pereira put his title on the line for the fourth time inside 12 months, but in a surprise to many, the skilled challenger in Ankalaev came out on top, securing a hard fought unanimous decision after 5 rounds. Most believe, this rematch is the correct fight to make for the light heavyweight division, and it is heavily speculated that the UFC brass agrees.
While talking to Red Corner MMA, Strickland, a former opponent of Pereira, expressed that he feels “Poatan” stays far too busy, pointing to not only his accelerated fight schedule but also his lifestyle.
“He has a legitimate shot of beating him.”
Sean @SStricklandMMA breaks down the anticipated rematch between UFC light heavyweight champ Magomed @AnkalaevM and @AlexPereiraUFC . pic.twitter.com/cplE8sKqVG
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 26, 2025
“Ankalaev is just so f*cking good,” Strickland told Red Corner MMA. “I think a couple of things. I think Alex has a great chance of beating him in the rematch. I think Alex goes too hard. I mean, how many title defenses did he have? Going up and down weight classes, where Ankalaev rides the bench for a certain amount of time. Like, being that active and on top of that being a superstar. Like, no one knows who the f*ck Ankalaev is. Ankalaev walks down the street, no one knows who the f*ck that guy is.
“Alex is a superstar. He can’t leave his house without someone saying, ‘Oh, sh*t, there’s Alex, should we take a picture?’ It kind of takes a toll on the mind. Where you take Ankalaev who just lives in a f*cking cave somewhere, I don’t know where the f*ck that guy is from. He doesn’t have to deal with the same pressures of being famous as you do in the U.S. So I think Alex, if he just takes a step back, clears his brain, comes in fresh, stop traveling all over the f*cking world, I think he has a legitimate shot of beating him.”