"Sean needs to work on that pronunciation", "Most random friendship" - Fans react to Alex Pereira linking up with Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 312

Sean Strickland's fight with Alex Pereira at UFC 276 didn't last long, with the latter winning via a knockout in round 1. Soon after the loss, the pair struck up a friendship, helping each other occasionally in training camps.

With Strickland set to rematch Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, Pereira has arrived to corner his former adversary. The light heavyweight champion announced his arrival with an Instagram video post, in which both fighters loudly chant 'Chama'.

Check out the video below, courtesy of Championship Rounds:

Clips of the linkup between the two went viral on social media platforms, with fans flocking to the comments sections to share their thoughts.

A fan seemingly found Strickland's pronunciation of 'Chama' wrong, commenting:

"Sean needs to work on that pronunciation 😂"

Another fan commented on the nature of their friendship, considering Alex Pereira doesn't talk much and as a fighter is more power-focused, while Sean Strickland talks too much and has a volume-based fighting style.

"This is the most random friendship in the UFC"

Check out other reactions below:

Fan reaction screenshots. [Screenshots courtesy @ChampRDSj on X]

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Dricus du Plessis alleges favoritism for Sean Strickland getting the title shot

After Sean Strickland lost the middleweight title to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297, he bounced back with a victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

Post-victory, Strickland was adamant he wouldn't fight again if it weren't for the title, and he got his wish. He had clamored for a rematch soon after losing the title, but the promotion gave it to Israel Adesanya, who suffered a fourth-round submission loss to du Plessis.

In his recent exclusive interview on Demetrious Johnson's MightyCast YouTube channel, du Plessis floated an interesting theory as to why Strickland got the title shot, even though other fighters, with long winning streaks, seemed more deserving.

The South African pointed out that Jon Jones is the only American champion in the UFC. Upon hearing this, Demetrious Johnson looked at the other undisputed champions in the promotion, Alexandre Pantoja and Alex Pereira being Brazilian, Merab Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria being Georgian, and Islam Makhachev being Russian.

Even though Belal Muhammad was born and raised in the USA, the welterweight champion represents the Palestinian flag.

With the promotion based in the USA, du Plessis hinted outside factors like nationalism might've worked in favor of Sean Strickland getting the title shot.

However, Johnson and du Plessis might've forgotten the UFC's women's division as Julianna Pena, the bantamweight champion, is American.

Check out the conversation between Demetrious Johnson and Dricus du Plessis below (1:07:07):