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Alex Pereira scored a highlight-reel knockout win over Sean Strickland at UFC 276. 'Poatan' is now likely to make a bid for UFC gold despite being just three fights old in the promotion.
Watch the highlights below:
Holding two kickboxing wins over Israel Adesanya, Pereira had a lot of hype behind him going into his fight against 'Tarzan'. Both fighters came out gauging each other and Strickland surprised many by choosing to stand and strike with the former GLORY champ.
Watch the highlights below:
'Poatan' caught Strickland with his signature left hook and followed it up with a brutal right hand to shut the lights on his opponents at 02:36 of the opening frame. The Brazilian lived up to the hype, setting the stage for a third fight against Adesanya if 'The Last Stylebender' defends his title against Jared Cannonier.
Strickland, meanwhile, saw an impressive six-fight winning streak snapped by his loss to Pereira. Currently ranked number four on the middleweight ladder, it might be a while before 'Tarzan' makes a bid for UFC gold.
Alex Pereira is seemingly cheering for Israel Adesanya in the UFC 276 headliner
The fight between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya has been in talks since 'Poatan' made his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268 in November 2021.
Although Pereira scored a brutal flying-knee knockout win, Adesanya insisted that the newcomer must go through a few more opponents before being awarded a title shot.
'Poatan' went on to score a decision win over Bruno Silva and was confident of meeting Adesanya with a victory over Sean Strickland. While Pereira made a statement against 'Tarzan' at UFC 276, he will only fight 'The Last Stylebender' if the champ defeats Jared Cannonier in the main-event of the night.
Seemingly keen to fight his old foe, Pereira urged fans to cheer for Adesanya in the UFC 276 headliner. The former GLORY champ said in his post-fight octagon interview:
“Many people talk about my two wins over Israel Adesanya but say they’re in kickboxing. I just beat the No. 4 [fighter] in the rankings so I know I earned that [title shot]. Let’s cheer for Adesanya tonight.”
Watch Pereira's post-fight interview below:
