Sean Strickland was on a six-fight winning streak and on the cusp of title contention when he was brutally knocked out by a surging Alex Pereira at UFC 276 in June 2022. The dominant nature of the KO was enough to earn Pereira a title shot against Israel Adesanya.
Subsequently, “Poatan” went on to win the belt against “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 281 before losing the immediate rematch at UFC 287.
Meanwhile, Strickland suffered a split decision loss against Jared Cannonier in December 2022, only to bounce back and register back-to-back wins and earn a shot at the belt, albeit due to a stroke of luck.
Interestingly, instead of being negatively affected by his loss against Pereira, “Tarzan” was game enough to train with the Brazilian in the subsequent months.
Following Strickland’s upset win over Adesanya at UFC 293, some fans believe his training sessions with Pereira must have played a vital role in his impressive performance. How…