"He can't even speak English" - Fans react to Alex Pereira reportedly cornering Sean Strickland at UFC 297 

Fans were surprised by the latest addition to Sean Strickland’s coaching corner at UFC 297.

Strickland is set to defend his UFC middleweight title against No.2-ranked Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 297 main event. The 32-year-old trains under the Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick and became the UFC champion with the legendary coach’s guidance.

However, there will be another high-profile addition to Strickland’s corner in Toronto. ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi recently took to X and said that Pereira will be in the champion’s corner at UFC 297:

“Sean Strickland will have a surprise addition by his side tonight at #UFC297. Sources told ESPN that UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will be in Strickland's corner for the middleweight title main event against Dricus Du Plessis.”

Fans had mixed reactions to the news.

Catch their comments below:

Strickland lost to Pereira via knockout in their UFC 276 clash. The duo developed a cordial relationship after the fight and trained together. ‘Tarzan’ made significant improvements after the defeat and eventually became the champion by defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

Meanwhile, Pereira captured the UFC light heavyweight title after moving up in weight. Strickland’s opponent Dricus Du Plessis has expressed the desire to fight The Glory Kickbocing Hall of Famer in the future. But ‘Poatan’ has struck down the possibility of the fight happening.

Strickland is a -130 favorite heading into the UFC 297 clash while Du Plessis is a +110 underdog. The matchup escalated into a heated rivalry after Du Plessis brought up the champion’s childhood trauma while speaking at a press conference.

The potential effect of these comments on Strickland’s performance has been one of the major storylines of the event. It will be interesting to see how the fight plays out.