Teddy Atlas praises Sean Strickland’s coach for ‘No BS’ advice at UFC 312

Legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas shows love to Eric Nicksick, Sean Strickland's corner at UFC 312.

UFC

Coach Eric Nicksick ended up getting more flowers for his performance at UFC 312 than Sean Strickland.

Once more did team Strickland ride into a world title fight, traveling 'down under' to Sydney, Australia for a long-awaited rematch with middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. Strickland busted up the face of du Plessis in their first encounter, but that Strickland was nowhere to be found, his volume cancelled out by du Plessis'.

For five rounds, head coach Nicksick tried to get Strickland back into the fight, telling his fighter to mix up his attacks and bring something different to the table. There's only so much you can do from the corner, Strickland ultimately failing to make Nicksick's mid-fight adjustments.

Sean Strickland came up short in his rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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Teddy Atlas: 'Gotta Give His Corner Credit...'

Legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, known for cutting a great promo or two for his fighters in between rounds, has given his take on how team Strickland operated at UFC 312.

"He set the table with the jab, but he didn't eat enough with the right hand," Atlas said of Strickland on The Fight Podcast. "I gotta give his corner credit late in the fight. They were great. [Nicksick] was honest. He was strong. He had no BS, [wasn't] trying to be friends and not hurt his feelings. 'I don't wanna get fired. I wanna be nice...' This ain't a nice game. This is fighting."

Nicksick kept it real with Strickland in the blue corner, as he did on The Ariel Helwani Show earlier this week. Nicksick said Strickland fought like he was 'sleepwalking', adding he wants to coach world champions.

Atlas Loved Nicksick's Corner Advice To Strickland

Not long after Nicksick's comments and sentiment, Strickland said he'll 'probably not' have his head coach in his corner for his next fight.

"I don't think Strickland loved it, but it's okay," Atlas said of Nicksick's corner work. "The truth is important, at the end you will love it because it will give you a better chance to win. He not only told him the truth, he gave him ideas of what to do. He said, if I remember correctly, he said, 'You gotta stop just picking stuff off and then coming back. That ain't working. You gotta start to intercept some of his [attacks].'"

Sean Strickland had few answers for Dricus du Plessis' pressure at UFC 312. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

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"You gotta punch with him. That's what he meant. You can't just sit back and block and then come back because DDP ain't playing that game. You ain't gonna control him that way. It ain't working. He's better than that. You can't judge a book by the guy. He's better than that. So what you gotta do is when he's throwing, throw right with him, that's your only chance of catching him cold because now you're behind. That [advice] was great, I loved that."

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