Alex Poatán x Sean Strickland: love-hate relationship. Photo: SUPER FIGHTS Montage
When Sean Strickland step into the octagon on Saturday (8) to face Dricus du Plessis in search of the middleweight belt (up to 83,9 kg), another page of his history with another former title holder will be written. The Brazilian UFC star, Alex Poatán, will be your corner years after being on the opposite side of the cage.
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The main fight of UFC 312, puts the South African face to face with the so-called 'Tarzan' just over a year after the two met. The trained athlete Poatan tries to live a different story from the one experienced in the first duel when he saw his opponent win by split decision of the judges. The partnership with the light heavyweight champion (up to 93kg) is an unusual artillery in search of victory in this battle.
But the journey from the target position to trench companions took years, cost offenses and created unusual, as well as surprising, episodes. SUPER FIGHTS prepared a timeline of this evolution from rivals to friends.
Teasing before UFC 276
S. Strickland (right) and A. Poatan (left) faced each other in the UFC 276. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Sean Strickland e Alex Poatán were scheduled to duel on the main card of UFC 276, held in July 2022. The then Brazilian middleweight had to listen to all sorts of insults from the American who simply despised the quality of Poatan's stand-up fight, even though he was already a kickboxing champion.
“He’s a f***ing Brazilian who knocked out Izzy (Israel adesanya) 20 years ago. He's not that good of a striker. (Alex Poatán) Pereira is like that. You can only do that because you are tall and genetically blessed. If you were the size of a normal human, you wouldn't be able to get that far. It's a s***ty style,” Strickland said at the time.
Response in the octagon
A. Poatan (left) surpassed S. Strickland (right) in the UFC 276. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
Alex Poatán He was far from being the world-renowned UFC star he is today. But he had his shine. The Brazilian was not yet ranked, and had only had two fights in the organization, but he was given the opportunity to fight before the title against a daring top 5 fighter, Strickland.
I didn't even break a sweat. In the fight held in Las Vegas (USA), Alex Poatán put on a real show. The São Paulo native made the most of his excellent striking and crushed the 'bad boy' in the first round. Sharp in his stand-up fight – contrary to his opponent's prediction – the triumph came with a hard knockout. After the fight, the winner laughed best for laughing last.
“When he’s there and thinks he can beat me, for me, it’s much better. And, like I said, I knew he was a tough guy. If I know that’s how it is, I’ll be more alert and smart. Now, if he thought it was easy, it turned out the way it did,” said Poatan.
Respect is born
The prediction came true. The knockout over Strickland became the ticket to the title fight. Scheduled to face the champion Israel adesanya, Poatan still had to deal with 'Tarzan' publicly saying that he would not beat 'Izzy'. But, once again, the answer came in the octagon, the middleweight title went to the Brazilian and Sean surrendered.
“The guy hits hard, man. That motherf***er, he’s got dynamite in his hands, but I’ll get some wins under my belt, and hopefully he’ll still be the champ,” he said. Sean Strickland some time later in an interview with 'MMA Junkie'.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Israel adesanya x Sean Strickland . Photo: Reproduction/Twitter @ufc
Fate would reserve for Sean Strickland the opportunity to regain the belt precisely against Israel adesanya, who had already emerged victorious and been defeated in confrontations with the now respected Poatan, The rivalry between the Brazilian and Strickland was left aside, the two became friends and training partners. Alex Poatán was fundamental in preparing the North American to face the then champion and win on points.
Pereira taught Strickland how to sit down on his punches pic.twitter.com/Va9fWRXkg9
— Aj (@AjDuxche) September 10, 2023
Companions since 2023
Since winning back the belt, a relationship of friendship and improvement has been built without even requiring conversations. In sports, the language barrier is just a detail. Complimentary statements have become routine, as when Strickland spoke about Poatan to the channel 'Helen Yee Sports'.
“The guy is a savage and he already knocked out Izzy. I like that and I'll tell you why. With Alex [Poatan], it's kind of a scary thing. That excites me a lot,” he said.
Alex Poatán (left) in training with Sean Strickland (dir.). Photo:: Reproduction/Instagram
In a statement published by Plínio Cruz, coach of the current UFC light heavyweight champion (up to 93kg), the American confessed the terror he feels at the thought of facing the Brazilian again.
“I’m not afraid of Alex, but the problem is that my jaw will just go limp. I fall asleep. For me to knock Alex out, he has to do something really stupid. Like he has to do something like what he did against Izzy [Israel adesanya]. A chance to get free and knock him out. It's almost impossible,” said the fighter.
Dricus du Plessis x Sean Strickland/Alex Poatan
Now Alex Poatán is simply part of the team Sean Strickland. What reinforcement the American has, right? Enviable. The support requires a certain sacrifice from the Brazilian. Poatan is preparing to face Magomed Ankalayev do UFC 313, on March 8, in Las Vegas. Even so, he went to Australia to work as a coach at UFC 312.
A. Poatan and S. Strickland became friends and training partners. Photo: Reproduction/X
This is not an unprecedented case. In fact, in the first confrontation between Strickland and Du Plessis, the fighter of the year was there. The episode was even the reason for the South African exude mockery.
“(Poatan) was also in the corner in the first fight. I mean, they don’t even speak the same language. It doesn’t really make much difference if he’s in the corner, he can’t even understand his own coach. He’s also American. How is he going to understand Alex Pereira?” du Plessis said.
It is actually public knowledge that Strickland and Poatan talk little, restricted by the language barrier. Nothing that prevents the two from exchanging a loud 'Call me!' every now and then.
When Alex Pereira bumped into Sean Strickland at a gas station #UFC312
(via @AlexPereiraUFC) pic.twitter.com/DkeZEKdqe5
- ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 3, 2025
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