Alex Pereira doesn’t want to see an immediate rematch between Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya.
Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) stunned middleweight champion Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) by dethroning him with a decisive unanimous decision win in this past Saturday’s UFC 293 headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
All three judges scored the fight four rounds to one in favor of Strickland, which Pereira doesn’t think warrants an immediate rematch. Following the fight, UFC president Dana White said Strickland and Adesanya should run things back, but Pereira thinks the active Adesanya should take some time off. Pereira awarded Adesanya an immediate rematch when he knocked him out at UFC 281 but had to rally to get the finish.
“Personally, I don’t agree,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “When it was me, I agreed because I was losing the fight and managed to knock him out in the final round, so it was a totally different situation. That’s why he deserved it. But now, Sean exceeded all expectations. Many people who didn’t believe now believe. And hey, if you don’t believe, that’s on you. But I think he needs to keep going, bring in other athletes to challenge him.
“Adesanya needs to take a break because he’s a guy – man, let’s not discredit him just because he lost. He’s a guy that I think fought four matches in a year. I think he needs to rest a bit his body, his mind to come back refreshed, ready for another fight and then come after that belt again and try something against Sean Strickland. But with the style Sean showed, I think it’s tough for Adesanya to get that belt back.”
Pereira, who trained with Strickland after knocking him out at UFC 276, thinks Strickland is just a bad matchup for Adesanya.
“Clearly, Sean came in and shut his game down,” Pereira said. “He was really smart. He was moving forward all the time with an amazing defense and let’s not forget the precise strikes. He walked less, circled, and landed the best attacks. And, well, you all saw the result. I want to congratulate Sean Strickland.
“He did an amazing job, and I’m really happy for this change in the division’s champion. I think Sean’s time has come, and it’s not likely that another – not likely, but it’s tricky. The way Sean behaved in this last fight, for someone else to quickly take away his belt. So, let’s brace ourselves for many more epic fights. Despite some people’s skepticism, ‘Oh, he fought with Alex, and it wasn’t like that.'”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.
