According to Sean Strickland’s head coach, not everybody had a positive reaction to the news that UFC light heavyweight champ, and past Strickland opponent Alex Pereira will be in the corner for the main event of UFC 312.

Strickland challenges Dricus du Plessis in Sydney to cap off the promotion’s second pay-per-view of the year on Feb. 8. It will be the second meeting between the pairing, with du Plessis winning a razor-close decision at UFC 297 a little over a year ago to capture the title.

Ahead of the fight, Nicksick revealed that Pereria would be in Strickland’s corner, which led to some criticism. The Xtreme Couture head coach explained the no-brainer decision.

“He was going to be out there,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting. “It was just one of those things where we’re looking at the corner and I knew he’s going to be out there, and Johnny Eblen couldn’t make it out. I was hoping to have him in the corner. Myself and Danny Davis will be there, and it was just a matter of convenience, and these are two guys that really trust one another. Sean went out there to help him get ready for Khalil Rountree, and this is what people don’t really understand.

“I see some people thinking it’s like a publicity thing; it’s more about the comfortability in your corner — and not only that, what Alex is going to bring to the locker room. Sean warms up very, very hard. Sean basically fights in the back to get his eyes and his rhythm and his timing on point. Who better to be back there to help you warm up than Alex freaking Pereira, right? Like, that guy is going to help.”

Pereira and Strickland grew closer after they fought at UFC 276 in July 2022, where “Poatan” delivered a nasty first-round knockout to earn his chance to face Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title four months later — which he won with a late knockout.

The two have grown a kinship, and sometimes, when a bond is formed like that, communication can come in many forms.

“I’ve seen a couple of comments here and there [that Alex] doesn’t even speak English — he was in our corner for the [first] Dricus fight,” Nicksick explained. “He sat right behind me and he told me everything in my ear. ‘Hey, make sure he teeps more, make sure he jabs more.’

“We speak MMA, right? There’s enough for him to be able to say to help be a resource for us. And look, if we’re going to battle, who better to have in your corner than Alex Pereira? So I’ll take him in any capacity that we can get. But there’s a lot of deeper levels and layers of having him in the corner than just him just standing there, looking scary. So he’s going to help us a ton that during fight week and I’m excited to have him out there.”

Following his win over Strickland, du Plessis went on to stop Adesanya at UFC 305 this past August to retain his championship.

Strickland played the longer, and arguably, a much riskier game by sitting out following a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. Khamzat Chimaev returned at UFC 308 in October and quickly submitted former champ Robert Whittaker, leading a lot of fans to believe Chimaev leapfrogged Strickland.

In the end, Strickland’s risk paid off, and he’ll get his opportunity to become a two-time champion. And having Pereira in the corner — especially coming off a spectacular 2024 campaign for the 205-pound champion — will be cherry on top of the sundae.

“Not to mention, [Pereira has a] championship pedigree, a guy who is fighting to this level and capacity time and time again, and understands the magnitude of what he’s dealing with in those moments,” Nicksick said. “I don’t need a freaking guy to give him a speech or say all of these things. That’s what he has myself and Danny for. But his presence alone means a lot to us and having him there, and, and I’ll take him any day of the week.”