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• Updated May 6, 2026 at 11:34am

Former two-division champion Alex Pereira wants Sean Strickland to beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in Newark. That’s what the Brazilian sensation said during the UFC Countdown episode.

Strickland is going into the fight as a big underdog this Saturday against champion Chimaev. The former champion is looking to win back the title he lost in 2024. Former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion Pereira trained with Strickland in the past; both guys linked up at the UFC Performance Institute to train together again.

Alex Pereira Changed His Mind On Strickland

“Before we fought each other, I had a totally different view of him. But once we fought in the Octagon, you could see he was a different guy, a warrior. After our fight, we started training together. I did learn a lot from those sessions. Sean is a veteran of the game, and he knows his craft,” Pereira said.

“His jab is his biggest weapon. He is always marching forward and firing that jab. He needs to remain calm, keep pressuring, but needs to watch out for the takedowns. With his jab and front kick, he can make the difference in this fight. Of course, I hope he can get the win. I will root for him in this fight.”

Alex Pereira himself also has a massive fight coming up in June. The former two-division champion is fighting for a third belt in a different weight class. The Brazilian takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt during the big White House event in Washington, D.C. A win would make him the first fighter in the history of the UFC to hold titles in three different weight classes. An unbelievable achievement for someone who entered the UFC in 2021.

Grudge Match Between Chimaev & Strickland

The fight between Chimaev & Strickland is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Despite Strickland being a big underdog, the fans have been very vocal about the matchmaking. Both guys trained in the past but have traded some nasty words back and forth and are no longer on good terms. The UFC took some precautions before the fight and put both guys in different hotels. To make sure they wouldn’t see each other and start a fight outside the Octagon.

So far, nothing has happened, but the fans will have their eyes on the press conference that takes place on Thursday at 5 pm EST. Both guys will be on stage, and the expectation is that there will be many security personnel to make sure everything goes smoothly. For Chimaev, it is the first defense of his middleweight belt. The undefeated fighter won the belt last year by dominating and defeating Dricus Du Plessis after five rounds by unanimous decision.

Full Card UFC 328

Main Card
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland
Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira
Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta
Sean Brady vs. Joaquin Buckley
King Green vs. Jeremy Stephens

Preliminary Card
Ateba Gautier vs. Ozzy Diaz
Joel Álvarez vs. Yaroslav Amosov
Grant Dawson vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Jim Miller vs. Jared Gordon

Early Preliminary Card
Roman Kopylov vs. Marco Tulio
Pat Sabatini vs. William Gomis
Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Djorden Santos
Clayton Carpenter vs. José Ochoa