Sean Strickland’s head coach Eric Nicksick has been alongside for the trip, by the nice and the dangerous, for a very long time. For Nicksick, seeing a prized pupil like the previous UFC middleweight champion rise to famous person ranges has been surreal.
Strickland is making ready to face Paulo Costa in a five-round co-main occasion at UFC 302, which takes place June 1 on the Prudential Middle in Newark. It will likely be Strickland’s first combat since dropping the UFC middleweight strap to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 in January. Since his title win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 this previous September, there was an enormous shift in Strickland’s reputation.
Whereas Nicksick was definitely conscious of the rise in fandom, it wasn’t till the start of 2024 that he realized simply how large Strickland had gotten.
“After we had been in Toronto on the [UFC 297] presser, Chris [Curtis] and I had been strolling and a few man yells, ‘Sean Strickland, inform me what to suppose!’” Nicksick instructed MMA Combating, laughing. “I keep in mind Chris Curtis seems to be proper at me and goes, ‘Oh, God, no. Inform me I didn’t simply hear that.’ He’s simply acquired this following now, the place this man goes, ‘Sean, inform me what to suppose!’ And I simply keep in mind seeing Chris Curtis’ face, and Chris is rather like, ‘What’s occurring? We will’t have this. We can’t have this. Please.’
“I simply suppose that followers simply love his realness, man. His fights are thrilling, and I feel it was the [Adesanya] combat, he gained a whole lot of followers over. However his type could be very completely different than lots of people. He’s not going to be moving into there and knocking dudes’ heads off. He’s extra of a Diaz type. He’ll pepper you up and search for the kill pictures in a while down the road. He’s a quantity striker.”
Nicksick just lately spoke on The MMA Hour about changes he want to see Strickland make transferring ahead in his fights, together with utilizing his underrated grappling potential. Strickland has made his hay with an excellent in-your-face, pace-heavy type, which options great protection and a particularly efficient jab.
Since these feedback, Nicksick had a one-time UFC title challenger cease into the Xtreme Couture health club, and after working with Strickland, they utterly agreed with Nicksick’s evaluation that if Strickland grappled extra in fights, it might result in large success.
“Anthony Smith got here in and skilled with us for like every week, and Anthony was like, ‘Bro, this man is unreal on the bottom. He’s unreal. He was displaying me this little factor, and this trick, and I by no means considered it this fashion,” Nicksick defined. “And Anthony left going like, ‘Why doesn’t this man use this as a lot?’ And I simply regarded and turned my head to the wall and simply began [banging my head] on the wall. Like, ‘Dude, that is what I take care of.’”
