Alex Pereira was happy to give Sean Strickland his flowers.

Strickland became the new middleweight champion following an impressive unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya in the UFC 293 headliner this past weekend in Sydney, Australia.

It was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, not only from an odds perspective, but the manner in which Strickland effectively outclassed Adesanya over five rounds.

Pereira knows a thing or two about both fighters as he has beaten them both as well as trained with Strickland afterwards. That said, he isn't taking any credit for Strickland's win — that was all down to him.

“I spent a few days training with Sean Strickland, and I got to see how talented he is,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel (via MMA Fighting). “His strategies, how tough he is, I got a better understanding of this from training than actually fighting him. It was totally different because anyone who trains, who fights, knows how it is. During practice, we have more room to play around and that’s what I was able to pick up from him and that’s why I was so sure he was gonna win.

“Let me clarify, I had nothing to do with [his win], okay? He won on his own. It’s totally his success because he’s such a dedicated guy with a unique style and he really showed us what he’s got in his fight with Adesanya. So, the credit is all his. I had nothing to do with it despite the days he spent training with me. We didn’t train a lot but we had some good talks that might have made a difference. Not only for this fight but for his career in general and mine, too.”

Pereira notably earned a shot at Adesanya after knocking Strickland out last year. The Brazilian would go on to knock Adesanya out before suffering the same fate in their rematch earlier this year.

That said, Pereira doesn't expect Adesanya to become a three-time middleweight champion if he gets an immediate rematch with Strickland.

A big part of that is due to how Strickland was able to nullify Adesanya's game.

“Clearly, Sean came in and shut his game down,” Pereira said. “He was really smart. He was moving forward all the time with an amazing defense and let’s not forget the precise strikes. He walked less, circled, and landed the best attacks. You all saw the result.

“I want to congratulate Sean Strickland. He did an amazing job and I’m really happy for the change in the division’s champion. I think Sean’s time has come and it’s not likely that another [to take it away]. So, let’s brace ourselves for many more epic fights. Despite some people’s skepticism, ‘Oh, he fought with Alex and it wasn’t like that.’”