Eric Nicksick is insisting that all is well between him and Sean Strickland despite their recent disagreement.
Last month at UFC 312, Strickland suffered a one-sided unanimous decision loss in his rematch against reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
Following the defeat, his head coach, Nicksick, didn’t hold back, openly voicing his disappointment over the outspoken Californian’s seemingly uncompetitive performance and casting doubt on his fighter’s drive moving forward.
Reacting to the comments, "Tarzan" revealed that while they will remain friends, the Xtreme Couture coach will no longer be in his corner from now on. This revelation sparked speculation within the MMA community about a possible rift between the longtime fighter-coach duo.
However, Nicksick maintains that any tension with Strickland, if it ever existed, has now been put to rest.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Nicksick admitted that while he doesn’t completely second-guess his comments about Strickland, he wishes he had waited longer before speaking out. He emphasized that his words came from a place of genuine care.
The timing was wrong on my part, and the wording wasn’t as crystal clear as what I should have gotten out,” Nicksick said. “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.
Nicksick further shared that after his remarks gained traction, Sean Strickland reached out via text and later met with him in person, ultimately acknowledging the criticism.
Sean said that to me immediately via text. He was like, 'Hey man, I know exactly what you mean.' I saw him in person that same Thursday. We hugged, high-fived. 'I’m going out snowboarding.' We had a good conversation,” Nicksick continued. "So as far as I'm concerned, everything’s good on our end.
Following his recent setback, "Tarzan" now holds a 4-4 record in his last eight Octagon outings. This stretch includes the pinnacle of his career — dethroning Israel Adesanya to claim the 185-pound title at UFC 293 — only to have his reign cut short by Du Plessis at UFC 297.