"He's irrelevant in my life" - Francis Ngannou's coach explains why he's unfazed by Sean Strickland's "Instagram coach" comments

Francis Ngannou’s coach Dewey Cooper recently hit back at Sean Strickland for comments the latter had made about him.

Coach Dewey Cooper has been crucial to Ngannou’s MMA and boxing success. During the UFC Vegas 76 media day interaction in July 2023, Strickland criticized Cooper in harsh words, partially blaming him for Marvin Vettori’s recent losses in the UFC.

Cooper did not respond to the comments for the past nine months. Journalist Ariel Helwani, however, brought up the topic during Cooper's recent appearance on The MMA Hour.

Cooper said that he has close personal relationships with Eric Nicksick and other coaches at Xtreme Couture, the gym that Strickland represents. He ignored Strickland’s harsh remarks out of his respect for Nicksick and others. He then added:

“Sean Strickland’s opinions of me do not matter to me. He’s irrelevant in my life. By the way, I told Eric [Nicksick] congratulations after they won the strap and all of that. I’m not even mad at Sean for what he said because he didn’t even know that I trained one of his coaches there at Xtreme’s!”

Catch Cooper’s statement below (18:15):

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When Sean Strickland revealed that he sparred with Francis Ngannou in the gym

Despite his critical opinion of coach Dewey Cooper, Sean Strickland seems to have a good relationship with Francis Ngannou.

The former UFC heavyweight champion is considered to be the hardest-hitting fighter in the sport. Most of the fighters in the lower weight classes refrain from sparring with heavyweights due to the risk of an accidental knockout or unintended damage.

However, Strickland, who competes in the UFC middleweight division, revealed that he sparred with ‘The Predator’ in the gym. During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2023, Strickland said:

“Me and Francis Ngannou had a f***ing three-round war, you know. I’ve banged with Francis, yeah! Me and Francis banged. Heavyweights are easier to hit and not get hit. But the problem is they just touch you dude and it feels like you’ve been getting hit by a truck.”

Catch Strickland’s comments below:

After relinquishing the UFC heavyweight title, Ngannou signed a multi-fight contract with PFL. He also made a transition to boxing with a closely contested split-decision loss against Tyson Fury in October 2023. 'The Predator' will take on former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on March 8, 2024.