
Eric Nicksick reflects on spat with ex-UFC champion Sean Strickland: 'The timing was wrong'
Eric Nicksick insists it's water under the bridge with Sean Strickland.
Nicksick was pretty vocal with his discontent toward Strickland's lackluster performance against Dricus Du Plessis in their title-fight rematch at 312, which prompted Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) to say he doubts Nicksick be in his corner again.
Nicksick doesn't necessarily regret what he said. The Xtreme Couture head coach explained that he came from a good place when addressing someone who he doesn't just see as a student, but as a friend. He thinks perhaps he shouldn't have done it so soon after the loss.
'The timing was wrong on my part, and the wording wasn't as crystal clear as what I should have gotten out,' Nicksick told MMA Junkie Radio. '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.
'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. So as far as I'm concerned, everything's good on our end.'
Nicksick was criticized by a few pundits for his harshness towards Strickland, who gave a much more competitive effort in his first fight with Du Plessis at UFC 297.
'Whether I'm his coach, in his corner, none of that bothers me,' Nicksick said. 'What I said was from the heart because I love him and I care about him. I want to see him at his best in the best capacity that we all know Sean. If I lie as a coach, I'm not doing my job. If I feel like we're missing something, then I'm not doing my job. Should I have said it publicly? You know, maybe I shouldn't have. I don't know.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
43 minutes ago
- USA Today
Overreaction Time: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes, Merab Dvalishvili is HIM, and more!
Overreaction Time: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes, Merab Dvalishvili is HIM, and more! The time for overreacting is here! Check out the latest episode of "Overreaction Time" at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn debate these "overreactions" on the following topics in mixed martial arts: (01:01) - Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes is the biggest women's fight in UFC history. (07:27) - UFC 316: Merab Dvalishvili is HIM and isn't giving up the bantamweight title anytime soon. (14:59) - UFC 316: Sean O'Malley was never HIM and won't be champion ever again. (21:48) - UFC 316: Patchy Mix was overrated all along, and his debut proved it. (26:26) - UFC Atlanta: Pressure isn't on Joaquin Buckley to just win. He needs style points. Watch the full episode in the video above.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kevin Lee hopes all of Team Khabib gets to witness him beat Gadzhi Rabadanov in PFL debut
Kevin Lee has all the motivation he needs to make weight and pull off an upset in his short-notice debut against Gadzhi Rabadanov at 2025 PFL World Tournament 6. Former interim UFC lightweight challenger Lee (20-8) was signed to PFL in May to step into the lightweight tournament semifinal against 2024 champion Rabadanov (25-4-1) on June 20 at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. (ESPN, ESPN+). Advertisement Although he only got the assignment on roughly one months' notice, and will have to cut to the lightweight limit for the first time since May 2020, Lee said this opportunity comes at the perfect time, and it's one he feels fully prepared to take advantage of. "Even going back to the UFC my whole goal has been to prove I'm still one of the top lightweights in the world, that I'm still one of the top fighters," Lee told MMA Junkie Radio. "I got this opportunity now. This guy is tough. The best fighters aren't always in the UFC. We've seen it with Bellator. We've seen it with other PFL champions. We saw it back in the day with WEC, with Strikeforce. All over the board. There's good fighters all over the world, and this guy is one of them. He's on a hell of a win-streak, he won PFL's last tournament at lightweight in 2024. "It's my chance to go out there and shut him down and prove that I'm still one of the best guys, because he does train at the team where they hold all the lightweight titles right now. To take one of them away from them is going to feel pretty good." The team Lee is referring to is that of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, which also houses former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and current PFL Champion Series lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov. Advertisement Lee has always wanted to compete against athletes from the Dagestan-based gym, and strongly believes his American wrestling style is a strong counter to the high-level grappling that team offers. He never got the chance to prove it during his UFC tenure against Nurmagomedov or Makhachev, but intends to now, and he hopes those names are in the corner of his opponent to see it. "I hope the whole team is there to watch," Lee said. ""I'm in shape for the fight. The weight cut is going great. I'm more disciplined now than I was in the past. Me not having to cut the weight for five years, that was the last time I fought at lightweight, that's honestly gave my body a little bit of a break, and my mental a little bit of a break. ... When I step onto the scale and even into the cage, he's going to be real surprised how big and lean I am." Since he parted ways with UFC in mid-2023 following a brief second stint, Lee has struggled to find a consistent new home. He was part of the upstart GFL brand, which quickly fizzled before its inaugural show, among others. PFL is a proven organization at this point, though, and as Lee looks ahead to his future, he looks to be a prominent part of the company. Advertisement "Right now I'm with PFL, and after this one, I think I'll probably be their marquee guy and continue to get bigger and bigger," Lee said. "For now I'm with PFL and that's where I'm at. We never know with the future, where the biggest challenges are going to come from." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kevin Lee pokes at Team Khabib before PFL debut vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UFC's Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls for top contender bout vs. Curtis Blaydes next
Waldo Cortes-Acosta wants to prove he's worthy of a UFC title shot, and he knows to do that he'll have to take difficult fights. The rising heavyweight contender called for one of the tougher challenges in the UFC heavyweight division following his unanimous decision win over Serghei Spivac this past Saturday at UFC 316. Cortes-Acosta (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) wants to throw down with former UFC interim title challenger and long-time contender Curtis Blaydes. Advertisement "Like I told you before the fight, God willing, if UFC allows it, I'd like to fight against Curtis Blaydes," Cortes-Acosta told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "I want to prepare 100 percent and give it my all, and see what happens. I can prepare myself physically better, and work hard like I always do. I do know that I need to work hard now that I'm facing these guys because they're more advanced, more experience." Cortes-Acosta, who's on a five-fight winning streak, thinks doesn't see himself too far from title contention, and thinks a win over Blaydes could close him that gap. The Dominican fighter sees a showdown against Blaydes very much like his fight on Saturday – a striking affair that will eventually get his opponent to start wrestling. "I think that's a fight that will mainly lay out in the feet, but the moment things get complicated for him, he's going to look for the takedowns," Cortes-Acosta said. "That's what happened in this fight When Spivac started having difficulty striking, he looked to take the fight to the ground because I started catching him. The moment I began connecting my jab, I thought, 'I found him. I got this.'" As far as his win over Spivac, some people online scored the fight for the Russian fighter despite Cortes-Acosta out landing Spivac in significant and total strikes in every round of the fight. He disagrees with the "robbery claims" and thought he clearly won the fight. Advertisement "The first round, I had a tough time figuring him out," Cortes-Acosta explained. "I was a little confused, and I couldn't find him with my jab. Then after, towards the end of Round 1, I began to find my jab. I do give him the first round. He looked better. However, in the second, my accumulation of strikes was too much. Then in the third, my coach said I connected more than 100 strikes. So yeah." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls for top contender bout vs. Curtis Blaydes next