Coach Eric Nicksick weighed in on gym rumors surrounding Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev’s past sparring sessions.
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is on the verge of potentially earning another title shot after defeating Anthony Hernandez last weekend.
Strickland bounced back from his loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 with a dominant showing against Hernandez in the UFC Houston headliner. He stopped Hernandez midway through Round 3 to earn his first TKO win since July 2023.
After UFC Houston, Strickland had a wild post-fight press conference, featuring many claims about current UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Strickland and Chimaev’s feud has escalated in recent weeks, and Strickland reignited the fire behind the feud when he claimed at the press conference that he made Chimaev quit while training together at Xtreme Couture.
Strickland’s longtime coach and the former UFC middleweight champion have had an up-and-down relationship over the past year. His coach didn’t agree with his post-fight press conference revelations.
Eric Nicksick reacts to Sean Strickland’s claims about sparring Khamzat Chimaev
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, coach Eric Nicksick reacted to Strickland’s comments and shared a surprising stance against his longtime pupil’s claims.
“I think what happens in the training room, should stay in the training room,” Nicksick said of Strickland.
“Training is training. Guys should be putting themselves in less advantageous positions to make themselves better. We do a lot of situational sparring and training. But again, outside of camp, I think guys should be working on things and exploring new options, developing new tactics and techniques. Thinking that just because you beat a guy in the training room, whether you’re on the A side or the B side, you shouldn’t take that into the fight.
“What happens in the training room, I feel like, should stay in the room,” Nicksick continued on Strickland. “I think both guys are great competitors, game opponents, so to me, none of that stuff matters.”
Chimaev won the UFC middleweight title by defeating Du Plessis at UFC 319 last year. Meanwhile, Strickland may have to win at least one more fight, potentially against top contender Nassourdine Imavov, to get another shot at the belt.
How would a Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland fight play out? Let us know your predictions in the comments!