Alex Pereira is rooting for Sean Strickland

Alex Pereira has made it clear who he wants to see leave UFC 328 with the belt.

He is backing Sean Strickland.

That is not really shocking once you know their history. These two went from rivals to training partners, and over time Pereira clearly started seeing a different side of Strickland than the one most people get from press conferences and fight-week noise. When he talks about him now, it sounds less like a prediction from a fellow champion and more like trust from someone who has spent real time watching him work.

As the title fight with Khamzat Chimaev gets closer, Pereira is not sitting on the fence. He believes Strickland has the tools to make this a very real problem for the champion, and he kept coming back to the same part of Strickland’s game when he explained why.

Pereira on Strickland’s jab

Pereira said, “Before our fight, I saw him differently. But once he stepped into the Octagon, you could see it on his face, he was a different guy. He is a warrior.” That says a lot, especially coming from a man who already knows exactly what Strickland looks like across the cage.

He also talked about what changed after their fight, when they started training together. “The first time we trained together was after our fight. I learned a lot from those sessions; he’s got a lot of experience. He knows his craft. He’s always moving forward, firing that jab. That’s a great weapon he has.”

That jab is the center of Pereira’s read on this matchup. In his eyes, Strickland does not need to do anything complicated to give Chimaev trouble. He needs to stay calm, stay in his stance, keep the pressure honest and make Chimaev work his way through clean, steady shots instead of letting him rush the whole fight into panic. Pereira also pointed to the front kick as another key tool, especially if Strickland wants to keep the champion from getting too comfortable closing distance.

He put it like this: “He’s got to stay composed, keep pressing forward, stay alert, watch out for the takedowns, and use his jab and front kick. I’m really excited and motivated for this fight, and I hope he gets the win.”

That is a simple game plan on paper, but simple does not mean easy. Chimaev is still the champion for a reason. He is fast, strong, aggressive and very good at making opponents feel like the fight is getting away from them almost immediately. Pereira is not pretending otherwise. He just seems to think Strickland has the kind of style that can stay together under that sort of pressure if he gets the fight moving in his own direction early enough.

What makes Pereira’s take more interesting than a random prediction is that he is not speaking from highlight clips or outside impressions. He has fought Strickland. He has trained with Strickland. He has seen both the public version and the gym version. So when he talks about Strickland’s jab, his calm and his toughness, it sounds like a real technical read, not just a friendly vote.

And that is probably the strongest thing in everything he said. Pereira does not make this sound like a miracle upset. He makes it sound like a hard, disciplined fight that Strickland can absolutely win if he stays true to what already works best for him.

• Pereira says he is backing Strickland at UFC 328.
• He believes Strickland’s jab will be one of the biggest factors in the fight.
• He also pointed to the front kick as an important weapon.
• His message is simple: stay composed and do not let Chimaev take over the pace early.

Now the fight just needs to arrive. Pereira has already made his side clear, and he is not being quiet about it. He thinks Strickland has a real shot, and he is happy to say so out loud.