Veteran coach, Eric Nicksick has revealed light heavyweight best, Alex Pereira was left more than confused with close friend, Sean Strickland’s performance against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 last weekend — in which the former received massive criticizm for his display in a bid to reclaim the title.
Challening the incumbent, du Plessis for the undisputed middleweight crown in a rematch of their tight first clash back in January of last year, Strickland fell way short of winning the pair’s re-run — suffering a comprehensive unanimous decision loss.
And receiving a host of criticizm for his performance ‘Downunder’ from critics, pundits, and fans alike — Strickland’s display at UFC 312 has now also been called into question by the above-mentioned, Nicksick, who offered his student a harsh ultimatum.
“He (Sean Strickland) needs to evaluate what he wants to do in the sport,” Nicksick told Ariel Helwani for Uncrowned. “If it’s just to make money, great, let us know. I want to coach world champs, so my motivations are different. For him to show up and not back it up was uninspiring.”
Alex Pereira confused by Sean Strickland performance at UFC 312
And furthermore, amid questioning from the likes of Din Thomas, Strickland was also called into question by former-foe turned training partner, Pereira, who appeared flummoxed by the approach he took against du Plessis at UFC 312.
“He’s (Alex Pereira) cool, man,” Nicksick said. “Like, he’s just, he’s intimidating as all hell. But he was cool, like, you know, leaned over a few times and, you know, he’s looking at me like, ‘What the hell’s going on with Sean?’ I’m looking at him like, man, we need to get this out of him, you know? So, no, he was cool.”
