Sean Strickland has loads of backup in his nook when he faces Dricus du Plessis in a rematch with the middleweight title on the road at UFC 312.
Along with his common crew of coaches, which incorporates head nook Eric Nicksick, Strickland will obtain some further recommendation from UFC gentle heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
The Brazilian is ready to nook Strickland for his battle in opposition to du Plessis after they really fought again in 2022. Since then, Pereira and Strickland have skilled collectively and develop into mates whereas additionally not competing in the identical weight class.
Pereira is predicted to function the fourth coach in Strickland’s nook per Nicksick, who confirmed the information to MMA Preventing on Tuesday after initially revealing his plans to The Schmo on YouTube.
Strickland is trying to reclaim the middleweight title after he misplaced the belt to du Plessis again in January 2024 in a razor shut resolution. Since that point, Strickland went onto beat perennial contender Paulo Costa to place himself ready to get one other shot on the belt.
In the meantime, du Plessis vanquished longtime foe Israel Adesanya with a formidable submission victory this previous August in his first title protection.
Following his win over Adesanya final 12 months, du Plessis truly welcomed a future battle in opposition to Pereira after he posted a photograph on Instagram saying he was thinking about returning to middleweight for not less than yet another look to tackle the brand new champion from South Africa.
The fighters exchanged just a few extra phrases over social media and thru interviews however an precise bout between them by no means got here to fruition.
As a substitute, du Plessis can simply look throughout the octagon on Feb. 8 when he’s dealing with Strickland and he’ll see Pereira staring proper again at him.
