"He wants Sean Strickland to light a new fire" - Mike Perry makes eye-opening claims on why Eric Nicksick publicly called out 'Tarzan' after UFC 312

Former UFC star Mike Perry, who now competes in the BKFC, has shared his opinion on why former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick publicly criticized him.

At UFC 312, Strickland locked horns with champion Dricus du Plessis and lost by unanimous decision.

While some members of the MMA world applauded Strickland for fighting till the final bell despite having a broken nose, many criticized him for his poor performance.

After the event, Nicksick appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and called Strickland’s performance “underwhelming.” While expressing his desire to "coach world champions", the 45-year-old advised 'Tarzan' to reevaluate whether he wants to fight for legacy or money.

On the Overdogs podcast, Perry made his case on why Nicksick publicly called out 'Tarzan':

“Maybe coach Eric wants the fumes. He wants Sean to light a new fire and take a deep dive and a deep look. Sometimes constructive criticism is really hard to hear and like as a fighter who has dealt with somethings like that I feel like over time eventually I can’t be mad at them for being right. The truth shall set you free."

'Platinum' added:

“I didn’t hear really everything what Eric said. I just know that he wasn't exactly happy for some of the things and he thinks Sean could have done better in certain areas and there was miscommunication between them during the fight and Eric was probably upset as to why."

Check out Mike Perry's comments about Sean Strickland and Eric Nicksick below (3:00):

Perry believes that since Strickland and Nicksick have been training together for some time, they ought to work things out. Additionally, the former UFC fighter stated that although he was impressed by the American's effort at UFC 312, du Plessis outclassed him.

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Eric Nicksick agrees with his mistake of publicly criticizing Sean Strickland

Former UFC fighter Matt Brown recently appeared in an interview with MMA Fighting and discussed how coaches should always support and not criticize their pupils despite defeats because that is what they signed up for.

Brown went on to remark that even though Eric Nicksick didn't say anything particularly incorrect, he shouldn't have publicly criticized Sean Strickland.

Check out Matt Brown's interview below:

The post caught the attention of Nicksick, who agreed to his mistake and commented:

"@iamtheimmortal I agree, Matt, looking back at it I made a mistake. My true intentions were to try and motivate him publicly, and that was a miscalculation on my part. 🙏🏼"

Check out Sean Strickland's coach Eric Nicksick's comment below:

Eric Nicksick's comment [Screenshot courtesy: @mmafighting on Instagram]