"He's starting to trust us" - Sean Strickland's coach explains how he has evolved to improve his game ahead of UFC 293

Sean Strickland's coach, Eric Nicksick, believes the middleweight contender has started to trust the process at the Xtreme Couture gym.

Strickland was announced as the challenger to Israel Adesanya's middleweight title earlier this week after Dricus du Plessis ruled himself out of the pay-per-view in Sydney, Australia. 'Tarzan' will head into the fight on a two-fight winstreak, earning himself a Performance of the Night bonus for his TKO win over Abusupiyan Magomedov last time out.

Strickland's last two performances have shown a sharp improvement in his game, which many have put down to his work at Xtreme Couture as well as his training with Glover Teixeira and Alex Pereira.

Ahead of the biggest fight of Strickland's career next month, head coach of Xtreme Couture Eric Nicksick spoke with ESPN MMA. Whilst many fans have already ruled out Sean Strickland's chances against Adesanya, Nicksick has seen first hand the improvements he's made.

According to the award wining coach, Sean Strickland's improvements and trust in the team means they may well cause the upset. He explained:

"I honestly feel like he's starting to trust us a coaching staff and understanding what we're looking for...You gotta make it look pretty and make it nice and shiny for the judges. These were the things Sean wasn't doing."

Catch Nicksick's comments regarding Strickland here (2:35):

Israel Adesanya's coach claims Dricus du Plessis will regret letting Sean Strickland take his title shot

Dricus du Plessis earned himself the No.1 contender spot when he stunned the world by finishing Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.

The South African, however, declined to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, citing his desire to nurse an injury as well as not being willing to do such a quick turn around between fights.

The UFC opted instead to book Sean Strickland in his place, with 'Tarzan' now confirmed to be main-eventing the Sydney, Australia card against Adesanya.

Speaking to Submission Radio, Eugene Bareman, head coach of 'The Last Stylebender', weighed in. According to Bareman, du Plessis will regret letting his opportunity be handed to Sean Strickland. He said:

“The problem is if you don’t step up and take fights, you go into the pool. That’s a fact. Nothing in this sport is solid...If he’s got nothing signed on the dotted line, then he’s out there in the ether. He had a shot. It’s the same shot that many of my boys have had...And we fought with horrific injuries because you don’t take that lightly."

Catch Bareman's comments here: