Sean Strickland has grown into one of the "Captains" in the gym, claims coach

Despite his polarizing persona, Sean Strickland is a consummate professional when it comes to his training. During a recent interview with MY MMA NEWS, 'Tarzan's coach Eric Nicksick had high praise for his star pupil.

As per Nicksick, Strickland makes it a point to always perfectly structure his training sessions as well as help others map out theirs.

Interestingly, Strickland even helped former light heavyweight title challenger Magomed Ankalaev prepare for his fight against Jan Blachowicz.

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According to the MMA coach, the UFC athlete has become a sort of leader in his gym over the years:

"He's [Sean Strickland] on time. Practice starts at 3:30, he's here at 3:00. He's lining up his sparring sessions correctly, he's getting the guys all, you know, together...whether they are from his [185lbs] group or higher or lower, asking what rounds they need... I think over the last few years, you've seen a guy grow as one of the leaders in the gym and almost like one of those 'Captains' if you will."

Eric Nicksick added that despite the controversial statements Strickland often makes during media segments, he is a genuinely "great" person:

"He is rough around the edges, he is going to say funny and weird sh*t, but as far as like a coach, I can't say one bad thing about the man. There are days when I'm there mopping the mat, and he'll be the first one to grab the mop bucket and help out. He's a great dude, man."

Watch Erick Nicksick talk about Sean Strickland below:

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Sean Strickland calls out D.U.S.T's Dale Brown

Earlier this month, UFC middleweight Sean Strickland had a run-in with self-defence instructor Dale Brown. Brown caught the public eye through the often hilarious Detroit Urban Survival Training (D.U.S.T) videos on Instagram.

However, when the duo met, 'Tarzan' derailed Brown's self-defence demonstration, accidentally pushing the instructor into a gun display stand.

In the aftermath of the incident, the D.U.S.T trainer called out the UFC athlete to meet him in the desert and fight it out. Strickland did not take kindly to Brown's challenge and took to Instagram to call out the "fraud" martial artist for a $200,000 desert showdown:

"You said you would meet me in the desert? I will make you a deal. Whenever you’re free, I will buy your plane ticket. I will put you at whatever hotel you want. I will go take $200,000 in cash, and I will put it in the sand. You can have that money. All you've got to do is beat me. I promise you we will do this whenever you want... You’re a phoney. You’re a con artist."