To anyone other Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya has been an unsolvable puzzle at 185-pounds.

The Brazilian, who makes his UFC light heavyweight debut at this weekend’s UFC 291 in Salt Lake City against Jan Blachowicz, is the only man in UFC history to hold a middleweight win against the current champion; a victory he added to two similar wins in their kickboxing rivalry.

And after Adesanya reclaimed the world title — and a significant measure of revenge — late last year with a stunning second round TKO win against Pereira in Madison Square Garden, that has left a division of contenders unsure who could be next. But according to Pereira, one man stands above all the others when it comes to potentially handing Adesanya an ‘L’.

“Fighting Israel Adesanya is always a hard fight, but he showed that he can be beaten,” Pereira told the media, including The Mac Life, through his interpreter at the UFC 291 media day. “Sean Strickland, he has a chance. Different game plans are hard. But if anyone has a chance against Adesanya, that’ll be Sean Strickland. But it’s still a hard fight.”

Of course, Pereira and Strickland’s paths crossed in the cage a year ago in a bout which lasted barely half a round before Pereira landed the fight-ending combination. More recently, the pair spent some time together in the training room where both were vocal in praising each others’ skillsets.

“100%,” Pereira added of Strickland’s chances. “100% If Sean Strickland put in the work, he should [win].”