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Alex Pereira is set to fight Sean Strickland at UFC 276 on July 2, and Michael Bisping believes the kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter could earn a title shot off an impressive win and a slick callout.
In the 400th episode of Believe You Me, Bisping said Pereira's KO win over current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya back in 2017 puts him ahead of many other contenders at 185 lbs. He encouraged Pereira to take advantage of his mic time like Michael Chandler did and call for a rematch with Adesanya if he beats Sean Strickland. Bisping said:
"If I'm Pereira, who has a knockout over Izzy in his preferred style of fighting which is kickboxing, you better believe he should do it. That would be three in a row - obviously he has to get through Strickland first. Not an easy thing to do, Strickland's good, Strickland's a great grappler. You don't see much in the UFC but the man's got a really tricky ground game. But if Pereira can pull it off, for sure he should be calling out the champ. Because you gotta think that's what the UFC's leaning towards."
Watch Michael Bisping discuss Alex Pereira on Believe You Me #400 below:
Pereira is 2-0 in the UFC with both fights being won in an impressive manner. The first was a TKO win over Andreas Michailidis and the second was a unanimous decision over Bruno Silva.
More importantly, he holds two wins over Israel Adesanya, one of them being a knockout finish. The big stumbling block for 'Poatan' right now is his position outside the official UFC rankings. A win over No.5-ranked Sean Strickland would likely catapult him up into the top five amongst a list of opponents Adesanya has already beaten.
Israel Adesanya is hoping Alex Pereira does well enough to earn a title fight against him
Following Pereira's violent flying knee KO win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268, Israel Adesanya discussed his rival's arrival in the UFC and how he hoped they could fight again. Adesanya said:
“One thing I noticed is everyone holds onto that win he has over me. Like it’s the be-all, end-all. But I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him.”
Adesanya beat Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 and now faces Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. So 'The Last Stylebender' is already thinking a Pereira fight could take place relatively soon if he beats Jared Cannonier and Pereira beats Sean Strickland.
Watch Israel Adesanya discuss Alex Pereira below:
