Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, upset with his longtime coach’s public criticism of his performance at UFC 312, said Wednesday that Eric Nicksick will “probably not” be back in his corner again.
In a lengthy video posted on social media, Strickland said he felt compelled to respond after Nicksick questioned his motivation for fighting following a near-shutout defeat to Dricus Du Plessis in their title rematch Saturday night. After Strickland lost by scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46, Nicksick called the effort “underwhelming,” going as far as to say it looked like Strickland was “sleepwalking” in the Octagon.
“I think he needs to evaluate what he wants to do in this sport,” Nicksick said on “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Tuesday. “If it’s just to make money, then that’s great, let us know. I want to coach world champions, so my motivations are different. I think that just to show up and do that and not really back it up, to me was just kind of uninspiring.”
Strickland issued a response Wednesday, saying he had to explain himself because of Nicksick’s call-out.
“I like Eric,” Strickland said in his video. “He’s a friend of mine and he’s going to continue to be a friend of mine. Will he probably be in my corner? Probably not. We have so many great guys at Xtreme [Couture]. … We have so many savages that I would love to corner me.
“But that entire fight camp was just a struggle. … We all have excuses as to why we didn’t win, or why we won or we shouldn’t have won. We all f—ing have excuses, and they don’t f—ing matter. The only reason I’m doing this video is Eric had to go do a f—ing podcast and become an influencer, so I’ve got to kind of explain myself.”
Strickland went on to reveal that he suffered a broken arm while preparing for the Du Plessis fight and also had to deal with a staph infection. He said he pushed through the camp despite not being in top condition, calling it “a struggle of knowing I’m not good.”
In his postfight remarks Saturday, Strickland admitted that the broken nose he suffered against Du Plessis in the fourth round somewhat took him out of the bout. But he emphasized in his video Wednesday that he “didn’t quit” despite the injury.
“I broke my nose like three times in that round, and every single time, I didn’t quit,” Strickland said. “I didn’t go sit on the stool and say, ‘My nose is broken and I can’t fight.’ I adjusted it every f—ing time.”
Strickland (29-7) had won four of his five previous fights before Saturday night, with the other loss coming to Du Plessis in a close decision in January 2024.