Sean Strickland said Alex Pereira’s speed and power could help him succeed at heavyweight, despite claiming the former two-division UFC champion is “not a heavyweight,” during the UFC 328 prefight press conference ahead of his middleweight title challenge against Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland was asked by reporters at Thursday’s media event in Newark to compare sparring sessions with Pereira and former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, as speculation continues over Pereira’s upcoming move to heavyweight competition.
“That’s a hard one, dude. This is why Alex is going to excel at heavyweight. Heavyweights are fucking heavyweights. Alex is not a heavyweight. Alex is a 205er with a heavyweight build that can be heavyweight and that’s why you’re going to see him succeed so much because you’re fighting lower competition, you’re faster, hit harder,” said Strickland. “But Francis is big and black, bro. I don’t know. If I had to pick who I want to fight, I don’t know… They both suck.”
Strickland and Pereira previously fought at UFC 276 in 2022, where Pereira stopped the American by first-round TKO at middleweight. The pair later trained together, with Pereira crediting Strickland for helping him develop during those sessions. Pereira went on to win the UFC middleweight title against Israel Adesanya before moving to light heavyweight, where he captured the belt and defended it during two title reigns.
Pereira is now set to face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House South Lawn event marking America’s 250th anniversary. A victory would position Pereira for a future undisputed title fight against Tom Aspinall once the British heavyweight returns from injury.
The comments came during a tense week for Strickland and Chimaev ahead of their UFC 328 main event. The two exchanged insults online and in interviews, with Chimaev claiming he previously submitted Strickland during training sessions. Chimaev enters the bout unbeaten at 15-0, while former middleweight champion Strickland holds a 30-7 professional record.
