Dricus du Plessis poses daunting question to Alex Pereira about cornering Sean Strickland at UFC 312, heaps high praise on 'Poatan' 

Dricus du Plessis has shared his thoughts on Alex Pereira cornering Sean Strickland at UFC 312. Du Plessis will attempt his second middleweight title defense against Strickland, marking a rematch of their previous fight at UFC 297, which du Plessis won by split decision to capture the 185-pound strap.

Pereira, who also cornered Strickland at UFC 297, will do so again at UFC 312. In a recent interview, Mark Bouris asked du Plessis to think of a question for Pereira, to which du Plessis, known for his subtle trash talk, responded:

"How is it going to feel Sean Strickland's corner, losing again? I'll ask him that."

That said, du Plessis showed a lot of respect for Pereira, stating:

"To go in a short period of time from a different sport, and not just a different sport - Kickboxing - which is not a great base for MMA. It helps, but if that's the only thing you know, not the great base if you want to go up against these wrestling guys. He came in and just went through everyone!"

He added:

"[Pereira is] always ready to fight. I have the world's respect for him as a fighter, and as a person. We are rivals but I have utmost respect for what he's achieved in the sport, and he's truly one of the GOATs to ever - not MMA or in the UFC - in combat sports. I think, probably the most-achieved combat sports athlete."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (42:26):

Pereira is the only athlete to win titles in two combat sports, securing the middleweight and light heavyweight titles in Glory Kickboxing and achieving the same in the UFC. In recent months, Pereira and du Plessis have shown interest in a super fight against each other.

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Dricus du Plessis' hilarious take on Alex Pereira cornering Sean Strickland

Although Alex Pereira is recognized as one of the greatest strikers in UFC history, Dricus du Plessis believes that the Brazilian's presence in Sean Strickland's corner will not impact the fight.

Pereira, who hails from Brazil, is not fluent in English while America's Strickland does not speak Portuguese. In a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, du Plessis humorously commented on the potential communication barrier between Pereira and Strickland, stating:

"He was in [Strickland's] corner in the first fight too. I mean, they don't even speak the same language. It doesn't really make much of a difference whether he is in the corner. Strickland could barely understand his own coach [Eric Nicksick], who's also American. How is he going to understand Alex Pereira?"

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (4:11):

Pereira knocked out Strickland in the first round at UFC 276 in July 2022. However, they became friends after the fight and have been seen training together on multiple occasions. Pereira was also one of the few experts who predicted Strickland, a massive underdog, to defeat Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in one of the biggest upsets of 2023.