Sean Strickland isn’t sold on his most recent successor, Alex Pereira, dethroning UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya.

UFC 276 played host to somewhat of an unofficial middleweight tournament as the title was defended while two contenders battled over a potential crack at the main event victor. Adesanya’s unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier saw him successfully earn a fifth championship defense in what was unfortunately considered by many as a lackluster performance.

The contender bout one fight earlier, however, saw the surging Strickland attempt to hold his No. 4 spot in the official UFC rankings by fending off the Brazilian kickboxing world champion, Pereira. Despite the fast-tracking of Pereira up the 185-pound ladder seeming rather obvious, “Poatan” proved it justified with a pinpoint left hook knockout of his outspoken adversary in just a single round.

Pereira now finds himself bound to meet Adesanya for the third time — their first meeting in MMA. In kickboxing, Pereira holds two wins over Adesanya with the first being a unanimous decision and the latter a vicious third-round knockout. Having felt Pereira’s power himself and watched Adesanya during his rise, Strickland feels we’ll be hearing “and still” come the eventual showdown.

“Let me tell you something, just cause you can fight doesn’t mean you’re not a b****,” Strickland told The Schmo. “Don’t forget that. Ask that to ‘Izzy.’ Just cause you can fight, don’t mean you’re not a b****. And I think ‘Izzy’s’ gonna beat Alex. I think ‘Izzy’s’ gonna stand there and ‘Izzy’s’ gonna bounce around and outpoint Alex for five rounds and we’re all gonna say ‘Izzy’s’ the best in the world. Doesn’t change the fact that he’s a b****.

“He’s gonna float around and win but at the end of the day, no one remembers how you win, they just remember that you win. So even though he’s gonna f****** dance around on his little twinkle toes, he’s still gonna win. I hope he doesn’t, but I still think he’s gonna win. F****** ‘Izzy.’”

The Pereira defeat was only the fourth of Strickland’s 29-fight career, his first as a middleweight in the UFC, and his second via knockout. Remaining a top talent in the division, the North Carolina native hopes to get three more fights this year if possible.

As for a future Pereira rematch, Strickland knows what he did wrong but would only change one minor detail that led to his demise.

“It sucked, but you know, man, nothing different,” Strickland said. “At the end of the day, I said would stand and bang with anybody. I didn’t say I was gonna win (laughs). But nah, I would do nothing f****** different besides keep this f****** [right] hand up. I said I’d stand and bang with ‘em, and I’ll f****** stand and bang with ‘em and if I ever fight him again, I’m gonna stand and bang with the big motherf***** except I’m gonna have my [right] hand right here [against my head] the whole f****** time.”

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TOP STORIES

Sketch. Hashim Rahman Jr.: Jake Paul team used ‘shady’ trick behind scenes, bullied me into taking fight

Praise. Dustin Jacoby: Alex Pereira is ‘hands down’ hardest puncher I’ve ever fought, ‘just hits different’

Hype. Dana White: Israel Adesanya didn’t deliver on promises at UFC 276, but Alex Pereira fight will be ‘bats*** nuts’

Legacy. Frankie Edgar eyeing Madison Square Garden retirement bout at UFC 281, likes Dominick Cruz for final opponent

Stalled. Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t mind UFC making interim featherweight belt: ‘It will just make for a bigger fight’

Physique. Bill Algeo explains callout of ‘fellow bird chest haver’ Chase Hooper at UFC Long Island

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

UFC London: Blaydes vs Aspinall – July 23 | Fight Promo.

Top 10 Women’s Bantamweight Submissions in UFC History.

TUF CHAMPIONS | Fighters of the Round Table Series Premiere!

Laura Reacts – Laura Sanko’s Top 3 UFC Fights of 2021.

Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira Early Predictions.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Fair.

Spinal?

Heartbreaker.

I mean, it’s a good one.

Fight.

Hands of Stone.

Chef Li.

Legendary.

Warrior.

Hmm.

Amazing.

0069?

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Don’Tale Mayes (9-4) vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab (3-0); UFC 277, July 30

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FINAL THOUGHTS

If I had to predict how things will be mixed and matched at lightweight I’d say … Gaethje vs. Fiziev, Dariush vs. Gamrot, Ferguson vs. McGregor, Poirier vs. Chandler. I could also see some kind of mixing between those first two, but the latter are too logical not to do.

Thanks for reading!

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POLL POSITION

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 67% of 646 total votes answered “Miesha Tate” when asked, “Who wins tomorrow?” Tate lost via unanimous decision against Lauren Murphy at UFC Long Island.

Thursday: 76% of 683 total votes answered “Not without cutting off a leg” when asked, “Could Jan Blachowicz actually make 185?” Blachowicz recently teased that he could move down in weight to rematch UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya.

Wednesday: 61% of 613 total votes answered “Brian Ortega” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Ortega lost via first-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) against Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Long Island.

Tuesday: 35% of 514 total votes answered “Top 3” when asked, “Where do you rank UFC 100 among the best UFC events ever?”

Today’s exit poll:

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