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Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman believes Sean Strickland missed out on a massive opportunity at UFC 276. Strickland took on Alex Pereira in an unofficial #1 contender fight, with the winner fighting Adesanya next for the middleweight title.
Unfortunately for Strickland, Pereira landed a vicious left hook and followed with a straight right to get the first-round KO. The American succeeded in getting Adesanya's attention during the pre-fight press conference but ultimately couldn't get the win to secure a title shot.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Bareman mentioned Strickland's loss while discussing what's next for Adesanya by saying:
"Sean Strickland fumbled the bag. I don't know, man, like come on. That I thought was the fight, but he fumbled the bag...Did he think he wasn't fighting one of the best strikers in the world that can take you out if you stand in front of him? Your arrogance can get you in trouble."
Due to Pereira's decorative kickboxing background, the best path to victory for Strickland was to grapple. Instead, he tried to strike with the Brazilian and got caught early. 'Poatan' is now next in line for a title shot with an intriguing storyline considering he beat Adesanya in kickboxing twice.
Watch Eugene Bareman discuss Sean Strickland's loss below:
Sean Strickland posts Instagram video reacting to UFC 276 loss
Before UFC 276, Strickland was on a six-fight win streak with his last loss in 2018. The 31-year-old is known for aggressive sparring, so a first-round KO was unlikely. With that said, he was dealing with a better striker than he's ever fought before.
During an Instagram video, Strickland reacted to the disappointing loss by saying:
"Well, that sucked. You never wanna be someone's highlight, but that's the game we play. I tried to stand and bang with one of the best kickboxers. The sh**ty part about it was during the round I kept thinking, man, this is gonna be an easy fight...Hats off to Alex. He's a f***ing killer..."
Strickland is unsurprisingly disappointed, but at 31 years old, he has time to climb back to the top. The American dropped to the no. 7 ranked UFC middleweight (previously no. 4), with Pereira at no. 6. Luckily, the middleweight division still lacks title contenders, giving anyone a chance to earn a title shot with a couple of wins.
