Eric Nicksick knows he messed up.
Earlier this month, Sean Strickland fell short in his rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, losing a clear-cut unanimous decision. Afterward, Nicksick, Strickland’s head coach and cornerman, spoke about his fighter’s “uninspired” performance and questioned Strickland’s motivations. In response, Strickland gave his thoughts on Nicksick’s comments and said he will “probably not” be in his corner moving forward.
It was a sudden and unexpected fallout for the duo, and on Tuesday, Nicksick addressed the situation on his Verse Us podcast.
“I don’t even consider it a fallout,” Nicksick said. “I think it was just something I needed. I made a calculated mistake. We’ll talk about that and my thought process in what went on. But it was something I felt I really needed because it showed me a lot about people. It made me learn about what I need to do better. There was a lot, bro. Dude, I came out of this going, OK, here’s where I can be a better person, a better coach, a better friend, a better mentor, all these other things.’ But it also showed me who is in my corner.”
Nicksick’s original comments came shortly after returning home from Sydney, and the Xtreme Couture coach says that was a poor choice on his part.
“I made a mistake by accepting the invitation to go on at the timing of where I was at,” Nicksick continued. “I think people need to understand, you’re coming off 25 hours of travel, 19 hour time difference, I’m at the gym on Tuesday, half awake. I should’ve just said, ‘Hey man, not a good time.’ That’s where I f*cked up. I should’ve never done it.
“The reason why, you win, it’s like you’re on this parade. I also feel like if you lose, you should face the music, too. Hey man, we lost, let’s face it. What threw me for a loop was, about 30 minutes before going on with Ariel [Helwani], Sean is at practice with us, and Sean tells me all these things about how he felt in the weeks leading up to the fight, yada yada yada, his headspace. And it was very disappointing to hear what his headspace was and what his thought process was about being a champion, all these things. That’s personal. I should’ve known better. I took that energy and had to process that while I go on Ariel.
“I f*cked up. I f*cked up.”
But though Nicksick admits he didn’t showcase the best judgment, he still stands by much of what he said, though not the manner in which he expressed it.
“I made a miscalculation in that moment in every accepting to go on the show,” Nicksick said. “Number two, my wording was piss-poor. What I said was accurate: the fight was uninspiring. We all know Sean. That is not how Sean fights. What I said was accurate. Am I to shoulder some of that blame? One hundred percent. As a staff, it’s on us. I’ve always said that. But his output, his body language, his demeanor, it did not feel like Sean. And if anybody thinks I should have lied to cover, that’s a Yes Man, and I won’t be that.
“So if anybody is upset that I was a little too harsh on Sean f*cking Strickland, what are we doing here?
“Now, where my wording was wrong was when Ariel said, ‘Do you want to continue to coach Sean?’ On the heels of what he told me prior, my response should’ve been ‘championship mindset.’ Not champions. I don’t coach all champions, and I get that. Sean has a championship mindset. He works his ass off, he spars hard. I can never do what Sean does. But when you tell me that your motives have changed and it’s not to be a champion per se, my only real big incentive is ‘Let’s chase greatness.’ But I f*cking worded it wrong.”
Nicksick also added that though his wording and timing were wrong, the underlying point remains: he wanted to inspire better from Strickland moving forward, something Strickland himself has attempted to do in a similar fashion.
“What I’ve learned over the years is you should probably give people a little grace here and there. I can’t bat a thousand, and I made a mistake; I made a calculated error on that part. But what I was trying to do, in a roundabout way, was to challenge my fighter to perform better the next time out.
“Because here’s a guy who has publicly talked shit about Edmen [Shahbazyan], [Marvin] Vettori, other coaches, and the reason he does that is because he’s trying to get the best out of them. ... I know what Sean’s trying to do, and I defended him about what he’s said and how he’s said it because he wants what’s best for his guys in the room. ...
“So I tried to do a little of what Sean does and give him a taste of his own medicine and try to get a f*cking response out of him going, ‘I’m going to prove this motherf*cker wrong.’ I guarantee you this: if I’m in his corner or not, do you think he’s going to fight harder next time?
“So, did I f*ck up? Did I go and call him out or say anything that no one else was saying? I was probably the best on him compared to Din Thomas, other people. These guys were going after him. ‘Oh, you’re piling on!’ No, I’m being open and honest to the constructive criticism that we all should take on, myself included.”
Nicksick went on to say that he doesn’t care if Strickland has him back in his corner; he just wants what’s best for his friend and fighter, and even if this all was a mistake, his intentions were good, and he doesn’t regret doing it.
“Since he beat Izzy, I’ve seen a change,” Nicksaid said. “So I said what I said, hoping to get him back. So if that makes me a shitty person or a bad coach or whatever, I don’t know. But I don’t regret what I said. I regret the timing of it and the wording of it.”
