Sean Strickland reacts to coach’s ‘uninspiring’ dig and explains poor UFC 312 performance

Strickland’s trainer Eric Nicksick echoed criticism of his fighter’s showing against Dricus Du Plessis

Following a poor performance at UFC 312, Sean Strickland has reacted to his coach’s criticism, while explaining why he struggled in his rematch with Dricus Du Plessis.

On Saturday (8 February), Strickland lost to Du Plessis on points for the second time in 13 months. With the first result, Du Plessis took the middleweight title from the divisive American, who failed to regain it at UFC 312.

Strickland was widely criticised for his showing in Australia, where he lost all five rounds on two judges’ scorecards, and his trainer Eric Nicksick echoed that criticism this week.

After Nicksick called Strickland’s performance “very underwhelming” and “uninspiring” in an interview with Ariel Helwani, the 33-year-old has responded.

In a video on social media, Strickland said: “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 [Couture gym] – Nate [Pettit], Ray Sefo. 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 and 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.

Sean Strickland (right) during his second loss to Dricus Du Plessis (Getty Images)

“I was in Colombia eight weeks out, seven weeks out, getting stem cells on a broken bone. Bone healed fine, not an excuse, it just kind of weighs in the back of your head. I would train with [Reinier de Ridder], that submission guy, and he hit me with a whizzer – and it was already broken, and I thought my arm f***ing snapped.

“All men do this: You look in the mirror, and even though you’re not good, you’re like, ‘I’m f***ing good, you’re a f***ing man, you sack up.’ But all camp, whether it be the staph infection, the broken arm, having to get a visa that didn’t get approved until a week [before the fight], not being able to get cornermen out there... This entire camp was a struggle.

“Nothing [against] Dricus, he came there and fought his ass off. F***ing broke my nose, hell yeah, hats off. You fought like a f***ing man. I broke my nose like f***ing three times in that [fourth] round, and every single time, I didn’t quit. 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.

“I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll get lucky, maybe I won’t,’ but at the end of the day, we all have a f***ing story and no one gives a f***. I’m grateful for my life, I love my job, I love my fans – I support you guys just as much as you support me. Back in the gym, sack up and onto the next.”

Du Plessis retained the 185lb title with his unanimous-decision win (AFP via Getty Images)

Strickland also reacted to a specific comment from Nicksick, who said he wanted to coach world champions.

“I don’t fight to put belts on the wall,” Strickland said. “I don’t f***ing fight because Eric wants to go do a f***ing fancy podcast. That’s not why I fight.

“Before fighting, I had the lowest self-esteem, couldn’t even look at myself in the f***ing mirror. Like, I didn’t even know what dignity was when I first started fighting. Kind of through fighting, I’ve learned so much. I’ve met so many amazing people through the UFC. And fight fans, you guys have changed my f***ing life.

“You made me grow so much as a person in the ring and out of the ring, and that’s why I fight. I f***ing love it. I’ve got a lot of fights left on my contract, I love fighting, I’m going back to the gym. I’m working my ass off and I’m starting from f***ing square one. That’s just kind of how life is.”

Ahead of UFC 312, which took place in Sydney, Strickland drew criticism for calling Australians “English white trash” and insulting their gun laws and “lack of freedom”. The American also denied he had a staph infection, before acknowledging in his video this week that he did have staph.