Eric Nicksick embraces criticism after Sean Strickland falls short of 'fight to the death' talk at UFC 312: "Very underwhelming performance"

Following Sean Strickland's subpar performance at UFC 312, head coach Eric Nicksick has welcomed criticism. At UFC 312, Strickland locked horns with Dricus du Plessis in a rematch and lost the bout via unanimous decision.

In the aftermath of the bout, a large part of the MMA community has criticised Strickland's fighting style. The American attempted fewer strikes compared to their first bout, and had very little to offer in terms of meaningful offence. American won just one round on the judges scorecards.

Strickland’s head coach Nicksick appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and first revealed that his pupil had a staph infection a few weeks before the fight. He did, however, dismiss the infection as a factor in the fight.

When addressing the criticism levied upon Strickland, Nicksick said:

“Yeah of course. I do. We have to be real like it just was a very underwhelming performance in an opportunity to fight for the title.”

Check out Eric Nicksick's comments about Sean Strickland below (3:40):

According to his coach, Strickland wasn't the only member of the team that didn't perform and they came up short as a unit. Now, 'Tarzan' needs to reconsider the sport and clarify whether he wants to compete for the title or fight for money.

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Demetrious Johnson breaks down Sean Strickland’s fight style

In a recent YouTube video, Demetrious Johnson broke down Sean Strickland’s fighting style and stated that for 'Tarzan' to improve as a fighter, he must acquire new skills, keeping his ego aside.

Johnson said:

"Whether he’s losing a five-round decision, or if he’s winning a five-round decision, he will not deviate from that Philly Shell style, with that beautiful jab... He’s been doing that style from the very beginning, in the past four years of his career, and he will do it for the next four years of his career. "

'Mighty Mouse' also added:

"In order to get better in this sport, you have to take the time, swallow your pride, swallow your ego, and put yourself in a position where you’re going to force yourself to evolve and get better and learn new tools."

Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments about Sean Strickland (12:02):