Sean Strickland is likely going to have a slightly different group of coaches surrounding him when he returns for his next fight after a tumultuous night at UFC 312.
The former middleweight champion released a lengthy video on Twitter addressing his shortcomings in the rematch with Dricus du Plessis as well as comments made by Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick where he said during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show that it was a “very underwhelming performance” and an “uninspiring” effort from Strickland. While Strickland promises that he’s going to maintain a friendship with Nicksick going forward as he plans to continue training at Xtreme Couture, it’s likely that the veteran coach won’t be back in his corner again.
“I like Eric [Nicksick],” Strickland said in a video posted on Twitter. “He’s a friend of mine and he’s going to continue to be a friend of mine. Will he probably be in my corner? Probably not. We have so many great guys at Xtreme [Couture], 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. It was a f*cking 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*cking have excuses and they don’t f*cking matter. The only reason I’m doing this video is Eric had to go do a f*cking podcast and become an influencer so I’ve got to be like kind of explain myself.”
Strickland revealed that he actually had a broken bone in his arm just a couple of months out from the fight while he also suffered through a staph infection, which was brought up by du Plessis during fight week.
The whole ordeal took a toll on Strickland but he kept pushing through his training sessions with the mindset that he wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to get revenge on du Plessis while also reclaiming the UFC middleweight title.
“This is not an excuse but that entire camp was just a struggle of ‘I’m good, I’m good’ knowing you’re not good,” Strickland said. “I was in Colombia eight weeks out, seven weeks out getting stem cells on a broken bone. Again, bone healed fine, not an excuse, it just kind of weighs in the back of your head.
“I would train with that [Reinier de Ridder] guy, that submission guy and he hit me with a whizzer and it was already broken and I thought my arm f*cking snapped. I thought my arm snapped, I’ve got to go to Colombia. Like this is f*cked.”
Despite all the problems he faced during his training camp, Strickland just kept pushing through with hopes that he could turn it around in the fight.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen.
“But all camp this is just in the back of your head and you just keep telling yourself ‘I’m f*cking good’ and I think this is what all men do,” Strickland said. “All men do this. You look in the mirror and even though you’re not good, you’re like ‘I’m f*cking good, you’re a f*cking 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 of I’m not good but me looking in a mirror and saying ‘sack up.’”
For all the complaints that he put on a lackluster performance, Strickland knows he didn’t go into that fight anywhere near 100 percent but he won’t go back and use that as an excuse now.
Even late in the fight after du Plessis shattered his nose, which caused blood to go streaming down his face, Strickland wouldn’t give up until the final horn sounded.
“Nothing with Dricus, he came there and fought his ass off,” Strickland said. “F*cking broke my nose. Hell yeah. Hats off you fought like a f*cking man.
“I broke my nose like f*cking three times in that 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*cking time. I thought maybe I’ll get lucky, maybe I won’t but at the end of the day, we all have a f*cking story and no one gives a f*ck. 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.”
As much as the fight was built around the UFC middleweight title, Strickland says none of that has ever mattered much to him. He gets far more out of the sport than just championship belts and Strickland knows none of that changes regardless of the outcome in his fight against du Plessis.
“I don’t fight to put belts on the wall,” Strickland said. “I don’t f*cking fight because Eric wants to go do a f*cking 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*cking 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’m met so many amazing people. Through the UFC and fight fans, you guys have changed my f*cking life. Changed my f*cking 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*cking 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*cking square one. That’s just kind of how life is.”
