Always controversial in his statements and positions, Sean Strickland has become— for some time now—one of the most divided figures in the world of current fights. But what if we tell you that this bad boy is really good friends with one of the most emotionally balanced fighters in the UFC? As bizarre as it sounds, that is the truth. Alex Pereira, the stoic, has become really good friends with the American fighter – so much so that he has a surprise planned for fans at UFC 312.

During an interview with The Schmo, Eric Nicksick, the head coach at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts, revealed that Strickland, who is one of the fighters from their gym, will have a special guest at his corner against Dricus Du Plessis. Much to the excitement of the fans, it will be the light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. He said, “We will have Alex Pereira in the corner; drop the news right now. He’s a good friend of Sean’s; he’s a great training partner. Obviously, these guys have fought. But after the fight, I think it takes a man to go and learn from the guy who caught you with something.”

He further added that despite having fought in the past at UFC 276 back in 2022, ‘Tarzan’ helped Pereira train for his fight against Khalil Rountree Jr., so the Brazilian is making sure that he too proves his friendship by being in Strickland’s corner. “These guys trained with each other a ton. Sean went up there to help him get ready for Khalil Rountree, and I love having him, man. It’s great energy, so we just talked yesterday. We were going to have the fourth, and it was going to be Alex, so I can’t wait having him.”

Well, it looks like Dricus Du Plessis has a lot to worry about now. After all, ‘Poatan’ is one of the greatest fighters of this generation, and he surely would be providing ‘Tarzan’ with some invaluable tips. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we saw Sean Strickland get the upper hand at UFC 312. But do you know that there are more fighters in the Dana White-led promotion who want Alex Pereira as their sparring partner? One of them is none other than his formal rival Israel Adesanya.

Israel Adesanya now wishes to train with Alex Pereira

The rivalry between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya dates back to the time when they both competed in kickboxing. In this sport, the fighters faced each other twice, both won by the Brazilian—one of them by knockout. In MMA there were two more matchups, under the UFC banner, with one victory for each side. The last time they met, it was ‘The Last Stylebender’ who got the upper hand.

However, since the last fight between them in the UFC, the animosity that seemed to fuel their relationship in the past seems to have come to an end. Both Adesanya and ‘Poatan’ seem to have ended their rivalry and have even made it clear publicly that they have no intention of facing each other again. In fact, the Nigerian, in an interview with the website ‘MMA Fighting,’ opened the door to training with ‘Poatan’ in the future. It would be just like he did with his former Australian rival Robert Whittaker.

On their longstanding rivalry turning into a productive partnership, ‘Izzy’ said, “Yeah, definitely down the road. Me and Alex, I’ve already said I got what I wanted from that fight. I think the MMA world just gets greedy and tries to ruin a good thing because they want more. Never knowing when to quit. That’s why you shouldn’t gamble. But yeah, eventually it will, but right now it’s not that time.” Well, it looks like Alex Pereira really is in demand. But would his influence help Sean Strickland win his fight against Dricus Du Plessis? Let us know in the comments.