UFC 276 goes down this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In a potential middleweight title eliminator, Sean Strickland takes on the highly touted Alex Pereira.
Strickland is currently riding a six fight winning streak with his most recent win coming against Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 47. Whereas Pereira is 2-0 in the UFC, most recently beating Bruno Silva at UFC Vegas 50.
UFC 276: Strickland vs Pereira Analysis And Prediction
Pereira has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, and now that he has followed him into the UFC, the promotion hopes to make the most of the storyline. This is probably why the Brazilian is facing a top-five opponent in Strickland without being officially ranked. Adesanya also hopes to face his nemesis next, but Strickland is a major hurdle and can ruin the plans of the promotion, Pereira and Adesanya.
‘Poatan’ is relatively new to MMA, but he is one of the finest kickboxers in the world, and has tons of experience competing against high-level athletes, like Strickland. He’s lightning fast and has a great amount of power in his strikes. On the feet, he will have the edge over the American, who is a high-volume striker with heavy reliance on his boxing, particularly his jab. That may not be enough to deal with a striker of Pereira’s caliber though. However, Strickland has a solid chin, and can absorb shots and fire back with mean intentions. His pace and cardio will cause problems for the kickboxing phenom.
Strickland will have an edge in grappling, and should make good use of it at UFC 276, although Pereira has shown good takedown defence in his UFC bouts and has the ability to scramble to his feet. He’s also training with Glover Teixeira, so that should help him improve too. Strickland is a lot better than the fighters Pereira has faced in his first two promotional fights however.
Both fighters are very similar statistically. Strickland lands five and a half significant strikes per minute on average, whereas Pereira lands close to six. Pereira is better defensively as he absorbs a little over three significant strikes per minute on average, whereas Strickland absorbs close to five.
It’s a super close fight and Pereira has a tough test in Strickland but he will outstrike his opponent to earn a decision win.
Prediction: Alex Pereira by decision
Betting Odds:
Sean Strickland (-120)
Alex Pereira (+100)
Who do you think will win the middleweight contest between Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira at UFC 276?
