Sean Strickland reacts following knockout loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 276

Sean Strickland has issued a statement after suffering a nasty knockout loss to Alex Pereira earlier this evening at UFC 276.

Strickland (25-4 MMA) was returning to action tonight for the first time since February’s UFC Vegas 47 event, where he had picked up his sixth consecutive win by defeating Jack Hermansson by way of split decision.

Standing in the way of a potential title shot for the American was former GLORY kickboxing champion Alex Pereira. ‘Po Atan’ had made his highly anticipated Octagon debut last November at UFC 268, where he scored a sensational knockout victory over Andreas Michailidis (see that here). The feared striker followed that up with a unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva back in March of this year.

Tonight’s ‘Strickland vs. Pereira’ bout did not make it out of the first round. Sean Strickland had said pre-fight that he planned to stand and bang with ‘Po Atan’ and that is exactly what transpired. Unfortunately for the American, the decision to stand and trade shots with the former Glory champion proved costly as he wound up getting knocked out midway through the opening frame. Alex Pereira landed a slick combination with the second punch sending Strickland crashing to the canvas. The referee immediately stepped in to call off the contest.

Official UFC 276 Result: Alex Pereira def. Sean Strickland via KO at 2:32 of Round 1

Shortly following the conclusion of the contest, Strickland took to social media where he shared the following statement to his fans and followers.

 

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A post shared by Sean Strickland (@sstricklandmma)

“Well that sucked. You never want to be someone’s highlight but that’s the game we play. You know I tried to stand and bang with one of the best kickboxers. The shitty part about it was during the round I kept thinking to myself that ‘Man this is going to be an easy fight. I could see everything this guy is throwing. I am getting the better of the exchanges. I am going to beat this guy up for three rounds.’ And then halfway through I got caught. So, hats off to Alex (Pereira). He’s a f*cking killer. Thanks to all my coaches, sorry I didn’t get the win. Fans, thank you for supporting me. On to the next one. Time to climb the ladder again.” – Sean Strickland said in the video.

Who would you like to see Strickland fight next following tonight’s setback to Pereira at UFC 276?