Are Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland friends? What equation do the former UFC 276 foes share? Here’s what you need to know

Alex Pereira was tasked with facing middleweight contender Sean Strickland in just his third fight in the promotion. The pair faced-off at UFC 276, which saw the Brazilian dominate 'Tarzan' by knocking him out with a punching combination in the first round.

Whilst many fighters would typically go their separate ways after a fight, especially when it involves KO defeat, Periera and Strickland appear to have gone against the grain and have actually become close friends.

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Are Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland friends?

Following Strickland's defeat to Pereira, the 33-year-old was respectful post-fight, admitting he got his gameplan wrong and the better fighter won on the night. 'Poatan' later echoed that same sentiment and thanked 'Tarzan' for accepting to face him.

After their clash, Pereira went on to face his kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya twice, winning the middleweight title from the Nigerian New Zealander and then losing it back to him in a rematch.

Strickland would later face Jared Cannonier and narrowly lose via split-decision, before accepting a short notice bout against Nassourdine Imavov a month later. To the surprise of most fans, Strickland comfortably won the light heavyweight bout via unanimous decision.

After the pair both went 1-1 in their next two fights since facing one another, Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland soon enlisted the other's help in order to better prepare themselves for the future.

The Brazilian decided that to move up to light heavyweight, he needed a hand in improving his all-round game. Whilst training under the tutelage of Glover Teixeira, Pereira invited Sean Strickland to his fight camp whilst he prepared to face Jan Blachowicz.

Strickland was tasked with helping Pereira's grappling and takedown defense, whilst the 37-year-old worked to improve the American's stand-up. Their work together then proved a success as Alex Pereira went on to defeat Blachowicz via split-decision and Strickland finished Abusupiyan Magomedov with a second round TKO.

Since training together, the pair's budding bromance has continued to blossom, as they have since regularly called on the other to help with fight preparations. They have often been pictured together putting in the work in the gym.

Most recently, fans were given a glimpse into how close the pair have actually become, when MMA interviewer Nina-Marie Daniele stopped by Pereira's fight camp ahead of his UFC 307 bout against Khalil Rountree.

Alex Pereira had once again enlisted Strickland's help to prepare and the American was all jokes whilst discussing the Brazilian's status as a UFC champ. Whilst chatting with Pereira, Strickland said:

"You're [Alex Pereira] rich. You should be with like f*cking models bro. I know you grew up in the f*cking jungles and you hunted some deer. But that's not you anymore, Alex. That's not you anymore."