Even UFC middleweight berserker Alex Pereira gets scared sometimes.
The former GLORY two-division champion and newly-crowned UFC middleweight titleholder revealed to So Papos MMA that he was afraid to fight Sean Strickland prior to knocking him out at UFC 276, admitting that he felt intimidated when the latter locked eyes with him before their fight.
“Talking about my last fight, [Strickland] had 25 fights, was doing well in the UFC, ranked No. 4 in the middleweight rankings, he’s dangerous, he’s experienced,” Pereira said (h/t MMAMania). “I was scared, but when I heard him talk, I relaxed a little bit.