Sean Strickland had a second chance to reclaim middleweight gold at UFC 312. But instead of seizing the moment, he let it slip through his fingers. While ‘Tarzan’ is known for his defense-oriented, jab-heavy style, he fought with the caution of a man trying not to lose rather than a warrior desperate to win.

The fight ended in a unanimous decision win for Dricus Du Plessis. As for Strickland, he walked away from the cage with a broken nose and shattered dreams. Throughout all 5 rounds of the fight, ‘Tarzan’ never shifted gears, and never found that extra spark. According to his coach, this might be the wake-up call he desperately needs to re-evaluate his fighting career.

Sean Strickland put on blast by Eric Nicksick for “uninspiring” UFC 312 performance in a brutal reality check  

In a recent appearance on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’, Eric Nicksick made one thing very clear. Sean Strickland’s performance was a far cry from his promises during the build-up to the clash.

According to the Xtreme Couture head coach, “I mean, we have to be real. Like, it just…it just was a very underwhelming performance in an opportunity to fight for a title. You know? There there’s people in this sport that never even realized that potential to ever even be in an opportunity to fight for a championship. That should be enough to get you motivated to get you off the couch.”

The hunger Nicksick expects from a title challenger was missing. And coming from a fighter like Sean Strickland, who often talks about going to war and fighting to the death, that’s a tough pill to swallow.

But Nicksick didn’t place the blame squarely on his fighter’s shoulders. He confessed that their entire team should be held accountable for the UFC 312 loss. Yet, he further stated, “I think he needs to evaluate what he wants to do in the sport. If it’s just to make money, then that’s great. Let us know. You know? I wanna coach world champions. So my motivations are different. You know?”

Strickland didn’t fight like the man who shocked Israel Adesanya and ripped the belt away from him. Instead, he allowed Du Plessis to dictate the action, forcing Strickland into a slow, methodical fight that played right into the South African’s hands. And Nicksick saw it all slipping away.

His words spoke volumes as he shared, “So I think that, you know, just to kinda show up and do that and, you know, not really back it up is to me, it was just kind of uninspiring.”

According to reports online, even the UFC was under fire for giving Sean Strickland a re-match over contenders like Khamzat Chimaev. And his performance didn’t do much to silence the critics, either. More importantly, his coach’s words paint the picture of a camp struggling to deal with their fighter’s attitude. But they’re not the only ones who are mad at ‘Tarzan’!

Din Thomas goes off on Strickland for ‘cheating’ the fans and his coach  

Sean Strickland talked a big game ahead of UFC 312. He promised a war, swore he would fight to the death, and vowed to take the belt from Dricus Du Plessis by any means necessary. But when the cage door shut, none of that came to pass.

As such, UFC veteran and analyst, Din Thomas, didn’t mince words. Speaking on the UFC 312 post-fight show, he voiced a sentiment that’s been bubbling in the MMA sphere as he stated, “He’s not who he says he is. We want him to be something. He wants to be something, but he’s not that guy.”

Even after losing a razor-close split decision in their first fight, Strickland didn’t return with a new strategy. Instead, he stuck to his jab, kept a measured pace, and never truly pushed the action. Even when it was clear he was behind on the scorecards.

Between rounds, Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, practically pleaded with his fighter to step it up. He pushed for more volume, more urgency—anything to turn the fight around. But Strickland didn’t change gears. According to Thomas, “As a coach, I feel for Eric Nicksick because I know what it’s like and I don’t even want to go and be in that situation again. I know I’m hard on Sean Strickland. I know it but it’s because I’m cheated. I feel cheated by you.”

So where does ‘Tarzan’ go from here? Does he double down on his defensive style and accept being a high-level contender rather than a belt-holder? Or does he take this loss as the wake-up call Eric Nicksick believes he needs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!