It is confirmed that Alex Pereira will travel to Australia to corner his friend Sean Strickland against Dricus Du Plessis. However, one question on fans’ minds is how they will communicate, given that Pereira speaks limited English. Strickland’s coach has now provided an answer. What did Eric Nicksick have to say? Well, stay tuned as we are back with another episode of MMA News Roundup.

From the Alex Pereria news, we will move forward to Israel Adesanya and his defeat at UFC Saudi Arabia. It appears that Francis Ngannou has come forward in support of his friend. And finally, we will end our montage with a piece of information about Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s next clash after UFC Saudi Arabia. So without any further ado, let’s get started.

Eric Nicksick clears the air around Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland

We are just days away from witnessing the middleweight title defense between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland at UFC 312. It’s been a year since they last fought each other and what could be a better stage than Australia to settle their rivalry? UFC’s light-heavyweight champ Alex Pereira has come forward to assert that he would be cornering Strickland but this decision has raised a question: How will they communicate inside the Octagon? Well, Eric Nicksick has come forward to answer it.

While having a conversation with ‘MMAFighting,’ Eric Nicksick was asked, how Alex Pereira would interact with the team if he doesn’t even know English properly, to which the coach replied that he doesn’t even have to know the language in the first place to understand us. “He doesn’t even speak English. He was in our corner for the last Dricus fight. He sat right behind me and he told me everything in my ear: Hey, make sure he teeps more, make sure he jabs more,” said Eric Nicksick.

He further added, “We speak MMA, right? There’s enough for him to be able to say to help, to be a resource for us. And look, if we’re going to battle, who better to have in your corner than Alex Pereira? So, I’ll take him in any capacity that we can get, but there’s a lot of deeper levels and layers of having him in the corner than just him standing there looking scary.”

Well, it would be interesting to witness, how their rematch will conclude with Alex Pereira in the corner. Regardless, let us move forward to Pereira’s longtime rival, Israel Adesanya, who has found some support from his dear friend Francis Ngannou.

Francis Ngannou comes in support for Israel Adesanya

When you dominate the MMA world for several years, the community starts to view you as invincible. However, when that bubble bursts, it’s tough to cope with the depression that comes with defeat. Israel Adesanya is experiencing exactly that. The former two-time middleweight champion shared the Octagon against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia as his comeback fight.

Adesanya expected himself to perform like in the old days and catch the French fighter, but the opposite happened as he got knocked out in the second round, extending his losing streak to three fights. After the defeat, ‘Izzy’ tried to maintain his composure, but it was visible that the two-time champion was heartbroken by his performance. Days after the fight, Adesanya’s friend, Francis Ngannou came forward to share a photo of prime Israel Adesanya with respect as well as love emojis, trying to make his friend feel better about himself.

Well, Israel Adesanya’s reign as a champion is legendary. He was one of the most active champions in UFC history but every fighter has a retirement age and it appears that ‘Stylebender’ might be a step closer to his. While ‘Izzy’ licks his wounds, let us look at another UFC Saudi Arabia star, who walked away with a win.

Michael ‘Venom’ Page eyes Leon Edwards at UFC London

Michael ‘Venom’ Page was sensational in his battle against Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia. Coming off a defeat, ‘Venom’ understood that he needed a victory to remain relevant in the UFC, and that’s exactly what he achieved by dominating ‘Bullet’ in their three-round fight. After the victory, Page announced, “Look at me. Look at me. I am the captain now.”

Just a day after his fight, ‘Venom’ announced that he would love to clash against the former welterweight champion, Leon Edwards on home turf, “The only one I talk about is Leon Edwards, but that’s more so at a specific location. It’s only for the U.K. It’s not because of him. I just think the fight would be great for my fans over in the U.K.”

He further added, “I want to make a lot of noise and I haven’t gotten the highlight I’ve wanted – yet but if I can keep getting some exciting matchups, why not (continue fighting)?”

Leon Edwards will return to the Octagon at UFC London against Jack Della Maddalena. Well, will the UFC listen to ‘Venom’ after the  Saudi Arabia masterclass? State your thoughts in the comments below.