Sean Strickland's coach calls for mainstay UFC judge Sal D'Amato to be fired over controversial scoring 

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Sean Strickland (left), Eric Nicksick (center) & Sal D'Amato (right) [Image Credits- @eric_xcmma on Instagram and @HerbDeanMMA on Twitter]
Sean Strickland (left), Eric Nicksick (center) & Sal D'Amato (right) [Image Credits- @eric_xcmma on Instagram and @HerbDeanMMA on Twitter]

Sean Strickland eked out a split decision victory against Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 47. However, the final decision did not sit well with his coach, Eric Nicksick, who called upon the UFC to relieve the dissenting judge, Sal D'Amato, of his duties.

In the aftermath of the main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Eric Nicksick took to Twitter to criticize Sal D'Amato for the way he scored the fight. He called for greater accountability from judges and argued that a judge's ill-informed decisions could cost fighters their livelihood.

"Not even one media member scored it for Jack. I know we won, but if this guy is still judging, he will continue to make egregious decisions and ultimately cost fighters their careers and livelihood. [Fire Sal]"

Check out Eric Nicksicks's tweet below:

This is not the first time an MMA pro has expressed displeasure with Sal D'Amato's judgements. In a previous post on Twitter, Daniel Cormier slammed the judges for scoring the UFC 262 lightweight title bout incorrectly.

The judges scored the first round in Chandler's favor, even though Oliveira displayed exceptional grappling. 'Do Bronx' went on to finish 'Iron' in the second frame to pick up the vacant UFC lightweight title.

Check out Daniel Cormier's tweet right here:


Sean Strickland reveals he was offered a fight against Marvin Vettori

During the post-fight interview, Sean Strickland revealed that the UFC was willing to pay him a significant amount of money to fight close friend Marvin Vettori. This was when it looked like Paulo Costa might pull out of his showdown against Vettori back in October due to weight-cutting issues.

However, 'Tarzan' admitted that if he is offered his regular paycheck, he would most likely let the opportunity to fight Vettori pass him by.

Sean Strickland asserted that he would prefer for Vettori to stake his claim for the title once more before he fights 'The Italian Dream'.

"They actually asked me, whenever Costa drank too much wine and cookies, they offered me a lot of money to take his fight on a day's notice. And I called Marvin and I was like, 'Marvin they're offering me a lot of f***ing money, like I have to say yes.' You know, Marvin being a good friend, he was like, 'Dude. Yes. I can't blame you for saying yes.' So in that situation I said yes, but if it's just for what I'm making, I would rather bow my head and I'll let Marvin get another title shot before I fight him," said Strickland.

Check out Sean Strickland's interaction with the media below:

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However, the fight didn't come to pass as Marvin Vettori agreed to fight Paulo Costa at light-heavyweight instead of middleweight at UFC Vegas 41.

Vettori managed to outperform the Brazilian over the course of five rounds, walking away with a unanimous decision win.

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