Sean Strickland's head coach Eric Nicksick declined his earlier comments on UFC 312.
Former UFC Middleweight title holder Sean Strickland has heard a lot of criticism since his UFC 312 loss for Dricus du Plessis. But he probably did not expect his head coach to be one of the most vocal opponents of his performance.
Strickland lost Van Du Plessis due to a unanimous decision in a crooked defeat on UFC 312. After their first fight on UFC 297, an immediate classic, du plessis broken strickland in their rematch with Strickland who suffered a broken nose halfway through the fight.
In the days and weeks after UFC 312, Strickland heard criticism from a large number of sources, including some of his old opponents. But his head coach, Eric Nicksick, made the headlines by admitting that Strickland had a 'non -inspiring' tones and questioned future collaborations with the former champion.
After Nicksick's criticism was questioned by UFC Hall by Famer Daniel Cormier and others, the old coach turned on his earlier criticisms of Strickland.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Coach Eric Nicksick wants to be 'a better person' after Sean Strickland comments
During a recent episode of his fresh US podcast, Nicksick dropped his earlier comments about the performance of Strickland.
“I don't even consider it a fall -out,” said Nicksick. “I think it was just something I needed. I made a calculated mistake. We will talk about what happened. But it was something I felt that I really needed because it showed me a lot about people. It made me learn what to do to do better. There was a lot, Bro. Dude, I came out of this, okay, here 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 continue on the timing of where I was,” Nicksick continued. “I think people should understand, you come from 25 hours of travel, 19 -hour time difference, I am half awake on Tuesday in the gym. I just had to say, “Hey man, not a good time.” That's where I am. I should never have done it. (H/T MMA Fighting)
Du Plessis defended Strickland in a recent interview, and pointed out that the style of Strickland and the broken nose of the center of the fight led that the fight did not meet expectations. Strickland responded to Nicksick's first comments by claiming that his coach will probably not be in his corner.
Sean Strickland could get a former rival for the next UFC booking
Strickland suffered from a Staph infection and a serious injury prior to UFC 312. He called it one of the worst camps of his career after an impressive show against Paulo Costa Strickland earned a rematch with Du Plessis.
Before Strickland's two title losses to Du Plessis, he earned the middle weight belt by performing Israel Adesanya on UFC 293 in one of the greatest malfunctions in the UFC history. Strickland could possibly get a rematch with Adesanya for his next fight after Adesanya lost earlier this month to Nassourdine Imavov in UFC Saudi Arabia.
Strickland remains a UFC fan favorite and will try to get back on the right track in his next fight. But for now, things remain between Strickland and his old coach after UFC 312 Dicey.
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