Alex Pereira may have ex-opponent Sean Strickland in his camp for his UFC 307 title protection versus Khalil Rountree, he revealed Sunday on his YouTube channel.
“Poatan,” who knocked out Strickland again in 2022 to earn a shot on the middleweight belt earlier than later turning into pals with the Las Vegas-based fighter, moved his camp to the altitude of Salt Lake Metropolis to arrange for UFC 307, which takes place within the capital of Utah on Oct. 5.
“The factor concerning the altitude is that it’s laborious [to train],” Pereira stated. “We did this as soon as once I fought [Jan] Blachowicz. We did it for 2 weeks then, and three weeks now. I believe it’s going to be significantly better.”
Pereira defeated Blachowicz by way of choice in his first mild heavyweight bout contained in the octagon, additionally at SLC’s Vivint Area, and now returns as 205-pound champion to face Rountree. The challenger earned a shot at gold following 5 straight wins, together with 4 knockouts.
“Now we have an important staff right here,” stated Pereira, who often trains at Glover Teixeira’s staff in Danbury, Conn. “Now we have Glover, Plinio [Cruz], Yousri [Belgaroui], ‘Cesinha’ [Cesar Almeida]. Sean Strickland can be coming subsequent week to coach with us right here. I’m very pleased with this preparation.”
Pereira vs. Rountree serves as the primary occasion for UFC 307, with bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington defending her throne versus Julianna Peña within the co-main occasion slot.
In the meantime, Strickland is campaigning for a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis subsequent, however the firm has but to make an announcement on who will get the shot at 185 kilos.
