While former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland doesn’t appear to have any animosity toward his “friend” Eric Nicksick, he seemingly isn’t expecting the renowned coach to lead his corner next time out.
After sharing a special night in Sydney back in 2023 courtesy of a memorable upset win over Israel Adesanya, Strickland and Nicksick were back Down Under last week challenging the reign of Dricus Du Plessis.
They narrowly failed to crack the South African’s puzzle 13 months ago in Canada, and the polarizing American was even further from having his hand raised second time around.
In the main event of UFC 312 on Saturday, Strickland fell to a lopsided decision defeat after a disappointing display across five rounds that has garnered him plenty of flak from the MMA community. And perhaps the most vocally critical this week was the Xtreme Couture standout’s head coach and cornerman.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Nicksick didn’t hold back in his assessment of Strickland’s performance, branding it “uninspiring.” Many have eagerly anticipated the ex-champ’s reaction to those remarks, and he provided them a day later in a video posted on X.
In addition to outlining his plan to utilize different individuals in his corner moving forward, Strickland highlighted some of the adversity he had to overcome during fight camp for UFC 312.
“Alright, you guys keep tagging me about this whole Eric thing,” Strickland began. “I like Eric; he’s a friend of mine, and he’s going to continue to be a friend of mine. Will he be in my corner? Probably not. We have so many great guys at Xtreme…we have so many savages who I would love to corner me. … That entire (UFC 312) fight camp was just a struggle. Guys, we all have exuses as to why we didn’t win…and they don’t f*cking matter.
“The only reason why I’m making this video is because Eric had to go do a f*cking podcast and become an influencer, so now I’ve got to kind of explain myself. Opportunity never comes when it’s supposed to. … You must say yes. This is not an excuse, but that entire camp was just a struggle of, ‘I’m good, I’m good,’ knowing I’m not good,” Strickland continued. “Whether it be the staph infection, the broken arm, having to get a visa that didn’t get approved until a week (before), not being able to get cornerman out there; this entire camp was a struggle of, ‘I’m not good,’ but me looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Sack up!’”
The 33-year-old also touched on Nicksick’s questioning of his motivation when it comes to a continued career in fighting.
While the renowned trainer stated in no uncertain terms that he’s only interested in coaching those who aspire to be a world champion, Strickland enters the Octagon for a different reason.
“You guys, I don’t fight to put belts on the wall. I don’t fight because Eric wants to go do a fancy podcast,” Strickland stated. “Before fighting, you guys, I had the lowest self-esteem. I couldn’t even look at myself in the f*cking mirror. Through fighting, I’ve learned so much, met so many amazing people. … You guys have changed my f*cking life. You’ve made me grow so much as a person, in the ring and out of the ring. That’s why I fight.”
