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UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland's head coach Eric Nicksick has recently expressed his reservations about the notion of a short-notice matchup against Khamzat Chimaev.
With Chimaev emerging victorious in the co-main event against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, it appears he has solidified his position as the leading contender in the 185-pound division. Leading up to UFC 294, UFC CEO Dana White had consistently emphasized that the winner of the co-main event would earn the next title shot.
Despite securing the championship with a dominant decision win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September, Sean Strickland was reportedly offered a last-minute bout against 'Borz' with less than a month's notice. The scenario arose when Chimaev's scheduled bout against Paulo Costa was canceled due to surgery complications on the Brazilian's side.
Eric Nicksick has shared his perspective regarding the UFC's proposition to have the reigning 185-pound champion defend his title on short notice. During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Nicksick stated:
"From my understanding, they just threw it out there to see if he'd be available, and then when Sean had asked me, to be honest, I was the one that kind of said no. I was like, bro, I can't be there. I mean, we can go out there, but it just didn't make any sense to me whatsoever to take a short-notice fight against a killer."
He added:
"Sean Strickland can fight anybody on any day's notice we know that he's done it before in the past but why is it our responsibility to go put our title on the line on short notice when we already did them the solid by fighting Izzy on five and a half weeks notice. He did have an infection in his foot and everything else so, just didn't sound right. It just felt like a trap you know it felt like a big trap so I told him, I said no."
Check out Nicksick's comments below (from 20:31):
What did Sean Strickland have to say about fighting Khamzat Chimaev?
Sean Strickland is skeptical that a short-notice decision victory over Kamaru Usman qualifies Khamzat Chimaev for a middleweight title shot. During a segment of Extra Rounds on UFC Fight Pass last month, 'Tarzan' expressed his reservations:
"The only thing I like about Chimaev is that he sells fights. For some fu*king reason, people like him or don't like him... but he fu*king hasn't earned it, doesn't fu*king deserve it, but here we are. Give it to him. He sells a lot of fights. I'll go fu*king fight the man for five rounds. But no, he has not earned it. He doesn't fu*king deserve it. Getting a decision with a welterweight off a couch is not fu*king earning it."
Check out Strickland's comments below (from 0:02):
