Alex Pereira predicts Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis outcome ahead of UFC 297

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has made his UFC 297 prediction for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis.

During a conversation with content creator Nina-Marie Daniele, 'Poatan' was asked for his thoughts on the title fight matchup. The Brazilian picked former opponent Strickland to emerge victorious in the UFC 297 main event.

Pereira shared that although he wanted the fight to last all 25 minutes, he predicted 'Tarzan' to score a knockout victory in the second round of the fight. Pereira said:

"Sean Strickland. This man, we fought together, we train together, I know his advantages, I'm with him 100%. When I'm fighting, I just want to finish the five rounds, maybe a knockout. Same with Strickland, I'm hopeful he will win. I want him to make all five rounds in good shape. But I feel that by the second round, he will be able to knock out du Plessis."

Check out Alex Pereira's comments below:

Strickland and Pereira locked horns at UFC 276 in July 2022. The fight was a short-lived affair as 'Poatan' finished his opponent via first-round knockout. 'Tarzan' then suffered another defeat as he lost a five-round fight against Jared Cannonier via split decision.

But the 32-year-old bounced back and went on to build a three-fight win streak, which included capturing the UFC middleweight title in a fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

After defeating 'The Last Stylebender' via unanimous decision in September 2023, Strickland will have his first title defense against du Plessis on Jan. 20 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Du Plessis is currently undefeated in the UFC, winning all six of his encounters in the multi-billion dollar promotion. One thing to note is that five out of those six victories have come via finishes.

So, it will be interesting to see who emerges victorious in the UFC 297 main event on Jan. 20.