Diego Lopes follows Sean Strickland's lead, trains with Alex Pereira in Sydney: "Thank you for the invitation"

Diego Lopes has taken a page out of Sean Strickland's book by training with Alex Pereira, who actually invited him to train with him: a gesture for which Lopes was more than grateful. The Brazilian 145-pounder even snapped a post-training picture with Pereira, sharing it on Instagram.

Both Lopes and Pereira look to be in exceptional physical condition, especially Lopes, who looks as ready as he ever has. He is currently scheduled to face Yair Rodríguez at UFC on ESPN 64 on March 29. A win would almost certainly land Lopes a featherweight title fight.

"Chama. Thank you for the invitation to train with your team @alexpoatanpereira here in Australia"

The Rodríguez fight will mark the second time Lopes has faced a former featherweight title challenger, as he recently defeated two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega at Noche UFC 306. Meanwhile, 'Poatan' has several obligations awaiting him.

At UFC 312, he corners Strickland, a former opponent-turned-training partner and friend, against Dricus du Plessis. The pair compete in the main event for the South African's middleweight title, and Strickland will hope that Pereira's high-level striking experience will serve him well.

Furthermore, Pereira himself has a fight on the horizon. He is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event on March 8. It will be an emotionally charged fight for Pereira, who has been displeased with Ankalaev's persistent trash talk, which dates back to last year.

A win would see him essentially clean out the light heavyweight division, as there are no other clear challengers for him to beat. Everyone else in the 205-pound top five, besides Aleksandar Rakić, who is on a three-fight losing streak, has already lost to him.

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Diego Lopes is on a career-best hot streak

While Diego Lopes has certainly been on longer win streaks in his MMA career, he has never been on one of such high quality as his current purple patch. The Brazilian has scored five consecutive wins in the UFC, with his latest win being the most important.

Check out Diego Lopes rocking Brian Ortega:

Brian Ortega is a former two-time featherweight title challenger, having shared the cage with legends like Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. And at Noche UFC 306, Lopes beat him just as convincingly as the aforementioned two.