Coach Eric Nicksick Weighs In On Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya

Xtreme Couture head coach Erick Nicksick recently shared his two cents on the Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya title fight. While the veteran trainer, who coaches Strickland, held back from giving a solid prediction for the fight, he claimed that his pupil had a strong chance of winning if their strategy was carried out perfectly. 

Strickland is set to challenge Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 293 in Sydney this weekend. This will be ‘Tarzan’s first title opportunity and the reigning champion’s sixth career title defense. While the odds strongly favor Adesanya, Nicksick hasn’t given up hope on Strickland to pull off an upset.  

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Erick Nicksick discussed the upcoming 185-pound title fight. While he recognized Israel Adesanya’s dominance and exceptional fighting skills,  the Xtreme Couture frontman believed in the game plan they formulated for Sean Strickland. 

He stated that while he saw ‘The Last Stylebender’ as the greatest middleweight ever, MMA was an unpredictable sport, and anything could go wrong at any time. He stated:

“In my opinion, Adesanya is the best middleweight ever to do it. We have to go out there and execute this thing correctly, and if we can do that, I think we go home with the W.”

Given the bad blood between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, many eagerly look forward to this grudge match. ‘Tarzan’ is coming off two consecutive wins over Abus Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov. Meanwhile, the Nigerian-born Kiwi last reclaimed his middleweight title against Alex Pereira via second-round knockout at UFC 287. 

In the co-main event of UFC 293, Tai Tuivasa and Alexander Volkov will clash in a heavyweight contest. Elsewhere on the main card, Justin Tafa goes up against Justin Lane, and Manel Kape faces Felipe Dos Santos.