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Sean Strickland shut down the rumors that he and head coach Eric Nicksick are engaged in a dispute over money.
On February 8, Strickland attempted to regain the middleweight world title during a rematch against Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 312 main event. He suffered a unanimous decision loss and delivered a performance seen as uninspiring by most of the MMA community.
Following UFC 312, Strickland's head coach Eric Nicksick made controversial comments about being disappointed in his fighter's effort against Du Plessis.
Justin Jaynes, a former UFC fighter and current coach at Strickland's gym, Xtreme Couture, recently claimed Strickland and Nicksick could be having a dispute about money.
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Jaynes' comments on 'The Ten Seven MMA Show' were posted on Instagram, leading to Strickland responding in the comment section:
"This is completely false"
Sean Strickland captured the UFC middleweight world title with a shocking unanimous decision win against Israel Adesanya in September 2023. Four months later, Strickland was dethroned of gold due to a split decision defeat against Dricus du Plessis.
Strickland bounced back with a split decision win against Paulo Costa before suffering the previously mentioned second loss against Du Plessis.
Watch Justin Jaynes weighing in on the situation between Strickland and Nicksick below:
Eric Nicksick admits to making "a mistake" by criticizing Sean Strickland following UFC 312
Eric Nicksick's negative comments about Sean Strickland received backlash from many MMA fans and analysts. One aspect that didn't sit well with the sport's community is Nicksick claiming he only wanted to coach potential world champions.
Former UFC fighter Matt Brown recently criticized Nicksick's controversial quotes about Strickland. The Xtreme Couture head coach responded on Instagram comments by writing:
"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."
Sean Strickland is expected to make his Octagon return later this year. The 33-year-old former UFC champion has claimed he maintains a positive relationship with Eric Nicksick but might not have him as a cornerman moving forward.
