Sean Strickland entered UFC 312 with big talk, but when it came time to back it up, he simply couldn’t deliver. Despite his coach, Eric Nicksick urging him to shake things up, Strickland stayed in the center of the octagon, refusing to shift gears. The result? He got thoroughly outclassed and dominated by an upgraded Dricus Du Plessis. Now, Nicksick is speaking out, offering a brutally honest take on his fighter’s performance and where things went wrong.
In their rematch, Dricus du Plessis proved just how much he had evolved since their first fight. He shut down Strickland’s usual ‘jab-and-teep’ strategy, instead opting for a heavy focus on kicks. Du Plessis relentlessly attacked his legs and liver, and those brutal kicks slowed Strickland down, setting up his hands for spinning strikes and powerful crosses.
By round four, du Plessis had his opponent on the ropes, and a well-placed right hand broke Strickland’s nose, leaving him bloodied and nearly finished. And yet somehow, at no point during this fight did Strickland go to war like he had boldly asked fans to expect. Disappointed in his fighter’s performance, a brutally honest Nicksick termed it “sleepwalking” and said,
“It was just uninspired fighting to me… I was just trying to dig him out of it, I did not know if he was trying to collect data in the beginning or if it was just a slow start. Let’s not forget this is a title fight, I take these title fights very seriously. I was disappointed.”
Sean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick was not satisfied with his performance at #UFC312
“It was just uninspired fighting… it seemed like he was sleepwalking…
I want to coach world champions.”
@arielhelwani #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/w5ZlYDpt5T
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 11, 2025
This was a repeat of Strickland’s first fight with Du Plessis at UFC 297. The former middleweight contender’s passive style had resulted in a controversial judges’ decision loss for him back then. So, he knew he had to put in the pace on DDP at UFC 312 and the only way was to be aggressive. And yet…
Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Eric Nicksick who had strong thoughts on Strickland’s performance at UFC 312. UFC veteran Din Thomas also weighed in, saying Strickland just wasn’t showing the qualities needed to be a true champion.
Thomas calls out Strickland on hypocrisy
Strickland has always been known for his tough, in-your-face fighting style. He will press his opponents for 25 minutes, chipping away at their cardio and endurance. He doesn’t stray too far from his usual game plan, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of switching it up. We saw that when he adjusted his approach against Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title.
Strickland also has a solid jiujitsu background, but when he fought at UFC 312, he never even attempted to use it, despite being dominated on feet. Was it the pressure of the big moment?
Veteran analyst Thomas seemed thoroughly disappointed by the performance and exclaimed,
“I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be where he’s at. But he’s not who he says he is. We’ve got to admit that.”
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Where does it leave Strickland? The pressure’s on to prove he can live up to the hype, or he’ll be just another fighter who talks a big game but doesn’t deliver.
