Sean Strickland’s head coach Eric Nicksick walked back his earlier remarks on UFC 312.
Former UFC middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland has heard plenty of criticism since his UFC 312 rematch loss to Dricus du Plessis. But he probably didn’t expect that his head coach would be one of the most vocal detractors of his performance.
Strickland lost to du Plessis by unanimous decision in a lopsided defeat at UFC 312. After their first fight at UFC 297 was an instant classic, du Plessis demolished Strickland in their rematch with Strickland suffering a broken nose midway through the fight.
In the days and weeks following UFC 312, Strickland heard criticism from a multitude of sources, including some of his longtime adversaries. But his head coach, Eric Nicksick, made headlines by admitting that Strickland had an ‘uninspiring’ showing and questioned future collaborations with the former champion.
After Nicksick’s criticism was questioned by UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier and others, the longtime coach pivoted on his earlier critiques of Strickland.
Coach Eric Nicksick aims to be ‘a better person’ after Sean Strickland remarks
During a recent episode of his Verse Us podcast, Nicksick walked back his earlier remarks on Strickland’s performance.
“I don’t even consider it a fallout,” Nicksick said. “I think it was just something I needed. I made a calculated mistake. We’ll talk about that and my thought process in what went on. But it was something I felt I really needed because it showed me a lot about people. It made me learn about what I need to do better. There was a lot, bro. Dude, I came out of this going, OK, here’s where I can be a better person, a better coach, a better friend, a better mentor, all these other things.’ But it also showed me who is in my corner…
“I made a mistake by accepting the invitation to go on at the timing of where I was at,” Nicksick continued. “I think people need to understand, you’re coming off 25 hours of travel, 19-hour time difference, I’m at the gym on Tuesday, half awake. I should’ve just said, ‘Hey man, not a good time.’ That’s where I f—ed up. I should’ve never done it.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Du Plessis defended Strickland in a recent interview, pointing out that Strickland’s style and mid-fight broken nose led to the fight not living up to expectations. Strickland responded to Nicksick’s initial remarks by claiming that his coach ‘probably won’t be in his corner moving forward.
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Sean Strickland could face a former rival for next UFC booking
Strickland suffered from a staph infection and a serious injury leading up to UFC 312. He called it one of the worst camps of his career after an impressive showing against Paulo Costa earned Strickland a rematch with du Plessis.
Before Strickland’s two title losses to du Plessis, he earned the middleweight belt by outpointing Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Strickland could potentially face a rematch with Adesanya for his next fight after Adesanya lost to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Strickland remains a UFC fan favorite and will look to get back on track in his next fight. But for now, things between Strickland and his longtime coach remain dicey after UFC 312.