UFC middleweight contenders Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland have verbally agreed to a high stakes bout at UFC 277 on July 30.
A high stakes middleweight bout is being targeted for the second UFC pay-per-view of July. Per ESPN, top contender Sean Strickland and rising prospect Alex Pereira have verbally agreed to a bout at UFC 277 on July 30.
Strickland (25-3) enters the bout on a six fight win-streak and is widely expected to be nearing a title shot (if not getting one outright) with a victory. A former welterweight whose only UFC losses came to Kamaru Usman and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Strickland has emerged as one of the top contenders at middleweight after victories over Krzysztof Jotko, Uriah Hall, and Jack Hermansson. Strickland’s last fought in February where he won a split-decision victory over Hermansson.
Pereira (5-1) is looking to leap frog the middleweight rankings and fast track himself to a rematch in MMA with reigning champion Israel Adesanya. A former Glory kickboxing champion, “Poatan” secured a UFC contract after a brutal knockout in his LFA debut in 2020. To date he has two UFC appearances, stopping Andrea Michailidis in his UFC debut last November and winning a decision over Bruno Silva earlier this month. He also holds two victories in kickboxing over Adesanya, one by decision in 2016 and one by knockout in 2017.
No main event for UFC 277 has been announced at this time. Though a location has yet to be confirmed by the promotion, it is expected that the Honda Center in Anaheim, California will be the venue.
