Sean Strickland got knocked out clean by Alex Pereira with one of his famous left hooks in their UFC 276 clash two years ago. That win, of course, led to Pereira facing the champion and his arch-nemesis, Israel Adesanya, in his very next fight. After that historic fight, Pereira would become a veritable global superstar, and on the road to becoming its biggest active star.

All of that was made possible because Strickland got knocked out in the first round. But another twist to the tale that happened because of their clash was that the duo became good friends shortly after their fight. After all, the real UFC title was the friends we made along the way.

Since they are mutually unintelligible (Pereira doesn’t speak English and Strickland doesn’t understand Portuguese) to each other, they haven’t really become close friends; they are friends nonetheless. More importantly, both men, both champions, help each other whenever either of them has a fight coming up.

And this is the case this time too, as ‘Poatan’ gets ready to defend his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree on UFC 307 next month. Speaking to popular MMA reporter, ‘The Schmo’ on the latter’s YouTube channel, Pereira spoke on how good it was to have Strickland in his camp.

“We’ve established this partnership with Sean Strickland and we’re been getting together here for a while now. Always when we have a fight coming up we try to get together. Sean has already said ‘Anytime you guys need me just let me know, I’ll come here.’ The same goes for him. He’s a sensational guy, very hardworking, very skilled. Yesterday he came here not only sparring but also shared his techniques with us. Great guy, great vibe,” Pereira said through a translator in his native Portuguese.

And Pereira, although the favorite going into his next fight is the clear favorite, this is MMA and anything could happen. Especially, with the skill set and fighting style Rountree possesses.

Strickland helping Alex Pereira prepare for dangerous southpaw Rountree

Former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill doesn’t believe Rountree could win. ‘Sweet Dreams’ has been one of the most stringent critics of #8 ranked Rountree getting a shot at the champ, especially after ‘War Horse’s recent PED controversy.

But even Hill had to admit that Pereira-Rountree “was a good fight.” Just one that he sees going only one way. But why is the Chicago native so sure Pereira will win? Because he doesn’t think Rountree has the ‘gas tank’ to go five rounds, especially against someone of ‘Poatan’s caliber.

However, even Hill sees Rountree as a tough matchup for the Brazilian except for the gas tank. ‘War Horse’, after all, is a southpaw. And since Pereira is known to have a tough time against southpaws going back to his Glory Kickboxing days, Rountree is a clear threat because of that alone.

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Verbose UFC analyst Chael Sonnen, unlike Hill, feels Rountree will definitely beat Alex Pereira. Why? Because ‘Uncle Chael’ thinks Rountree does his best work and is most dangerous when facing a deadly kickboxer. And since there are no more dangerous kickboxers in MMA than Pereira, that alone means Pereira is doomed against Rountree. Or so Sonnen thinks.

This is why it is excellent that the Brazilian has someone like Strickland in his camp to prepare for Rountree.