“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
Sean
Strickland believes Alex
Pereira needs to reset before facing Magomed
Ankalaev again.
Ankalaev dethroned Pereira via unanimous decision at UFC 313
this past March. The Brazilian is expected to get an immediate
chance to reclaim his light heavyweight title. Strickland believes
his former opponent turned friend can beat Ankalaev in a potential
rematch.
However, Strickland believes Pereira needs to step back and collect
himself before fighting Ankalaev. Strickland noted that “Poatan”
defended his strap three times within six months last year.
According to Strickland, the activity paired with Pereira’s
overnight rise to stardom was bound to take a toll on the
Brazilian. Strickland also believes Ankalaev is nowhere close to as
big a star as Pereira and hence doesn’t have to deal with as many
media or commercial obligations. Strickland also advised Pereira to
stop touring around foreign countries for the time being.
“Ankalaev is just so f—ing good… I think Alex has a great chance
of beating him in a rematch,” Strickland told Red Corner MMA. “I
think Alex goes too hard. I mean, how many title defenses has he
had, going up and down weight classes? Where Ankalaev rides the
bench for a certain amount of time.”
“Being that active and on top of that being a superstar. Like no
one knows who the f–k Ankalaev is. Ankalaev walks down the street,
no one knows who the f–k that guy is. Alex is a superstar. He
can’t leave his house without someone saying, ‘Oh s–t there’s
Alex, should we take a picture?’ It kind of takes a toll on the
mind. Where you take Ankalaev, he lives in a f—ing cave
somewhere… He doesn’t have to deal with the same pressures of being
famous as we do in the U.S. So I think Alex maybe just takes a step
back, clears his brain, comes in fresh. Stop f—ing traveling all
over the f—ing world. I think he has a legitimate shot of beating
him.”
Ankalaev tried his best to book his first title defense at UFC 317
on June 28, but Pereira seemingly wasn’t ready. Pereira even
appeared to have a minor falling out with the UFC, as they were
exploring other options. Reports say the UFC approached former
champ Jiri
Prochazka, who chose his university exams over a likely title
shot.
Pereira’s loss to Ankalaev snapped a five-fight winning streak,
including four title wins. Meanwhile, Ankalaev is unbeaten in 14
outings since suffering his lone career loss in an upset against
Paul
Craig in his UFC debut.