The UFC certainly is not wasting time with Pereira. Days shy of his
35th birthday, Pereira is one of the more interesting entrants to
the UFC’s middleweight division in recent memory thanks to his
decorated kickboxing career. Of particular note is a 2017 knockout
of Israel
Adesanya, which gives “Poatan” a built-in storyline for a fight
with the current 185-pound kingpin. Once Pereira transitioned
full-time into mixed martial arts in 2021, the UFC came calling
shortly after. Through two UFC appearances, Pereira has certainly
looked like a converted kickboxer. Opponents have been able to
neutralize him, but Pereira has brought enough violence in other
moments—including a brutal flying knee knockout of Andreas
Michailidis—to come out the clear victor. After a March win
over Bruno
Silva, the UFC is throwing Pereira right into the mix against
Strickland, who makes for an intriguing matchup on paper.
Strickland made his UFC debut in 2014, and despite being in his
early 20s, California’s “Tarzan” was already a seasoned vet that
more or less hit the ground running, establishing himself as a
patient and practiced fighter on the fringes of the welterweight
rankings. After a 2018 motorcycle accident threatened his career,
Strickland returned two years later as a bulked-up middleweight and
launched himself into title contention. With some additional power
and buoyed by even more confidence in his skills, Strickland is now
firmly committed to bullying his opponents and marching them down,
banking on a combination of his durability and vision to see him
through whatever return fire heads his way. Despite Strickland’s
repeated insistence that he wants to murder a man inside the
Octagon, his lack of knockout power does make for some worryingly
thin margins against the middleweight elite. Despite having most of
his last fight with Jack
Hermansson well in hand, “The Joker” somehow still earned one
scorecard in a Strickland split decision win. Strickland’s upright
stance does make this Pereira’s best chance at a statement win
among the current contenders, as it is not hard to see the American
marching right into getting blasted by a knockout blow. However,
Strickland is an underrated wrestler and grappler who has been
willing to lean on those skills from time to time, and he seems
aware enough to follow the path of least resistance here,
particularly since he historically has not been concerned about
providing entertainment. The pick is Strickland via grinding
decision.
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