“I don’t f—ing fight because Eric wants to go do a fancy podcast. That’s not why I fight.” Do we remember perhaps the biggest coach-fighter fallout in the fight community after UFC 312? The kind that had everyone wondering if Sean Strickland and Eric Nicksick, one of the most battle-tested fighter-coach duos, were calling it quits. Best friends fight? That’s a given. But in a world as brutal as MMA, do they always make up? Maybe. Just maybe!
And with time to reflect, the Xtreme Couture head honcho admitted that speaking publicly about Strickland’s title rematch performance wasn’t the best move. “Yeah, I mean, the timing was wrong,” he told MMA Junkie. “The wording wasn’t as crystal clear as what I should have gotten out.” But his stance? That hadn’t changed. “If I lie as a coach, I’m not doing my job. If I feel like I’m missing something, I’m not doing my job. Should I have said it publicly? You know maybe I shouldn’t have, I don’t know.”
So, if we were to recall, right after the bout against Dricus Du Plessis, Nicksick didn’t hold back. “It was just uninspired fighting to me,” he said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “It just seemed like he was sleepwalking, it was a tough 25 minutes to travel all the way out there. Let’s not forget, this was a title fight. I take these title fights very seriously.” The words stung, especially coming from a coach who had been in Strickland’s corner for years.
Behind the scenes, though, the former champ wasn’t entirely upset, at least according to Nicksick. “Sean said that to me immediately via text you know. He was like, ‘Hey man, I know exactly what you mean,’” Nicksick revealed. “I saw him in person that same Thursday, we hugged, and high-fived. I’m going out snowboarding, we had a good conversation, so as far as I’m concerned, everything’s good on our end.”
UFC 312 SYDNEY, Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa R, punches Sean Strickland of United States during in their middleweight title bout UFC 312 event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Sunday, February 9, 2025. ACHTUNG: NUR REDAKTIONELLE NUTZUNG, KEINE ARCHIVIERUNG UND KEINE BUCHNUTZUNG SYDNEY NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxAUSxNZLxPNGxFIJxVANxSOLxTGA Copyright: xMARKxEVANSx 20250209197108759746
Good? Maybe. But the fallout still left its mark. “Everyone in the gym that knows me Sean included, knew where my heart was and knew where my head was and the point that I was trying to get across.” That’s what Nicksick believed, but is that really what we took away from Strickland’s then response?
Backed into a corner, how did Sean Strickland hit back?
It is safe to say that Nicksick’s disappointment came from a place of wanting more for Strickland. But in the fight game, expectations and reality don’t always see eye to eye. The former 185lbs champ had acknowledged their friendship but made it clear that things weren’t quite the same. “Will he probably be in my corner again? Probably not.” And as of now, that stance hasn’t changed publicly. No backtracking, no second thoughts. At least, not where we can hear them.
‘Tarzan’, never one to stay silent, had fired back in an Instagram video. “I fight because the UFC and the fans changed my life. I’ve got a lot of fights left, and I’m starting from square one.” But there was no denying the tension between him and Nicksick. “It was a f—–g struggle,” he admitted about his UFC 312 fight camp, revealing that he battled a staph infection, broken arm, and even VISA issues leading up to the event. “We all have excuses for why we didn’t win,” he added. “But nothing with Dricus. He fought his a-s off. Broke my nose? Hell yeah. Hats off.”
But, the rift between them wasn’t just about a bad performance, it was about direction. Strickland’s vision for his career seemed to be clashing with Nicksick’s coaching philosophy. And that’s where Daniel Cormier had a few words to say.”The only area that I think coach Nicksick was wrong was that ‘I want to coach world champs,’” Cormier said. “Not everyone is going to be a world champ.” And isn’t that the truth? Not every fighter gets their hands on UFC gold, and not every coach gets to mold champions.
Some are gatekeepers and some are grinders. “You don’t just get to coach world champions. I get the thought of what he’s saying, but not everybody gets there,” Cormier added. A harsh reality check? Maybe. But a necessary one? Absolutely. So, is this just a case of tough love gone wrong? Or a friendship cracking under the weight of expectations?
However, in the unforgiving world of MMA, nothing stays personal for long. So, what do you think? Was Nicksick out of line, or was Sean Strickland too sensitive? Let us know in the comments below!
The post “If I Lie as a Coach” – Eric Nicksick Reveals DMs From Sean Strickland Over ‘Wrongly-Timed’ Criticisms of UFC 312 Loss appeared first on EssentiallySports.
