Jorge Guimaraes, manager, says Alex Pereira will beat Sean Strickland to win the UFC title. Shares update: Pitbull brothers and Machida.

The UFC middleweight championship will be on the line when Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier collide in the main event of UFC 276 on July 2, and it appears that the next 185-pound contender will be defined earlier that night in Las Vegas.

Speaking on last week’s episode of MMA Fighting podcast Trocacao Franca, longtime MMA manager Jorge Guimaraes, the agent for kickboxing star Alex Pereira, said that it’s been agreed that the winner of “Poatan” vs. Sean Strickland will received a shot at whoever is victorious in Adesanya versus Cannonier.

“It’s already agreed, the decision has been made,” Guimaraes said. It’s a deal. “Whoever wins between Sean Strickland, Alex and Jared Cannonier will be facing the winner of ‘Izzy’ Israel Adesanya. It’s a deal.”

Pereira beat Adesanya in kickboxing twice and is a former GLORY two-division champion who has won two consecutive fights inside the octagon after making the switch to MMA. Strickland is on a six-fight winning streak, capped off by decisions over Uriah Hall and Jack Hermansson.

According to Guimaraes, “it was hard at first, as incredible as it sounds,” to find opponent for Pereira in the UFC, “because many people didn’t want to fight [him].”

“There were like 12 fighters turning down fights,” he said. “And fights there would be interesting. Big names, too. It reached a point that I had to go talk to the boss [laughs].

“But when you get to the top of the pyramid, people are forced to accept a fight. Sean Strickland finds it very interesting. He’s very tough, fun, brave, and I think it’s going to be a great fight. Both [match-ups] on the same night, it starts to build something already.”

Check below what Guimaraes said about the future of several other MMA fighters managed by his company.

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Patricio Pitbull

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pittbull won the fight against A.J. McKee in April. A trio match was also on the agenda. Yet, the company might go a different direction going forward. Adam Borics, 18-1 in the sport, could be next in line for Bellator gold.

“There are some talks about a rematch with A.J.,” Guimaraes said. Although Patrickio doesn’t object to it, Adam Borics may jump the queue since A.J. He is somewhat reticent. He’s suffering to make the weight, he’s a lengthy guy, and he might move up to Patricky’s division.”

Photo via Bellator MMA

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Patricky Pitbull

Patricky Pitbull, who sits at the top of the lightweight mountain in Bellator, was expected to face Sidney Outlaw in his first title defense earlier this year but an injury forced him to sit on the sidelines for some time. Guimaraes stated that the fight was “in the making” and would be “coming soon .”

“We have a date in mind,” he said, “but the deal will be finalized soon.”

The current plan is to book it for July or August, MMA Fighting has learned.

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Juliana Velasquez

Juliana Velasquez entered her second defense of the Bellator flyweight gold in April, and was ahead in the scorecards before referee Mike Beltran called for the stop with 13 seconds left in the fourth round due to elbows from crucifix position, crowning Liz Carmouche the new champion.

Velasquez’s team immediately filed an appeal with the Hawaii State Boxing Commission after Bellator 278, and is still waiting for an answer. They are keeping their hopes high, though, considering that the Hawaiian commission is more flexible than commissions like Nevada.

“Mike Beltran acknowledged his error, and John McCarthy wrote a letter in which Beltran also admitted to his error,” Guimaraes stated. “But it’s very hard to overturn a result. Although we hope for no contest, it can take time. The rematch will take place. That’s the most important.”

Photo via Bellator

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Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov scored a quick finish over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the main event of a UFC Vegas card earlier this month, another stoppage that sparked debate online. Rozenstruik claimed that the referee Herb Dean had stopped it too fast, but Guimaraes (Volkov’s manager) agrees with this to some extent. That said, “there’s no reason” to run it back.

” I was very confident [for this fight],” Guimaraes stated. “Rozenstruik doesn’t have enough volume for Volkov. Volkov marched ahead and showed him little respect. He let his mouthpiece fly, [Rozenstruik] already had it turned back and ran. Do you think it could go on a little longer? Yes. Herb Dean stopped it a bit soon, but it wasn’t… In the end, Jairzinho thanked him [for stopping it].”

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

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Lyoto Machida

An ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Mchida has recently signed free agency. However, it wasn’t the way that he wanted. Although “The Dragon” has lost four of his fights in Bellator and his manager stated that Machida wants to “continue” fighting under MMA rules.

“Lyoto is a fighter who trains hard and has faith in his abilities,” he stated. These fights in Bellator were not at the final one. He said that there weren’t any fights at the middleweight for Lyoto and they were split decisions. He was up against [Gegard] Mousasi, Phil Davis and other decisions that could have been either way. He’s extremely confident, and doesn’t plan to stop working .”

Guimaraes said he hasn’t started talking to other MMA promotions yet, but has an idea in mind.

” I’d like to make something [cool],” Guimaraes stated. “[Mauricio Rua] ‘Shogun’ will retire, so maybe do a fight with ‘Shogun’. It is possible to do anything. I just don’t want to take him from the world’s biggest promotions. It doesn’t make sense for him to fight elsewhere.”

Even with Machida currently on a four-fight skid, Guimaraes said that doing “The Dragon” vs. Rua 3 inside the octagon “is an option.” The Brazilian stars met twice under the UFC banner in the past, going 1-1 in title fights.

Photo via Bellator MMA

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Raoni Barcelos

Former RFA featherweight titleholder Raoni Barcelos, who impressed in a 5-0 start in the UFC with victories over the like of Said Nurmagomedov and Khalid Taha, is waiting for a call to return to the octagon after dropping back-to-back decisions to Timur Valiev and Victor Henry. Guimaraes stated that he has recently “resigned his contract” and is happy .”

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