Sean Strickland still champion in eyes of Eric Nicksick; demands winner of UFC 305 next

The middleweight division is packed with contenders for the championship title. South African champion Dricus Du Plessis is about to fight two-time champion Israel Adesanya for his first title defense.

In the meantime, former champion Sean Strickland is on the sidelines waiting for a rematch.

Eric Nicksick is Sean Strickland's head coach. He has played a crucial role in shaping Strickland's MMA career. Nicksick is the head coach at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, where Strickland trains. In a recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Nicksick talks about giving Strickland another title shot.

The fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 was indeed a close contest. The judges awarded Du Plessis a split decision victory, marking the end of Strickland's brief reign as the middleweight champion. Although Strickland demanded a rematch, he is in line with the rest of the contenders in middleweight, waiting for a title shot.

FS Video

Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis are set to face off for the middleweight title at UFC 305. The fight will happen in Perth, Australia. Adesanya lost his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, and Du Plessis captured the middleweight belt by defeating Strickland at UFC 297. Now, the American wants the two to fight it out and he will take on the winner. Meanwhile, Dricus Du Plessis says that the former champion will have to wait around for a while.

Shavkat Rakhmonov star power could cost title shot snub against Belal Muhammad, claims Daniel Cormier

Eric Nicksick picks the winner for Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

During the recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Nicksick analyzed the highly anticipated clash between Du Plessis and Adesanya. The MMA coach predicted that both fighters stand an equal chance of winning the middleweight title.

Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 (via X)

However, he said he wants to see how well the Kiwi performs after his long hiatus. Adesanya has not fought since losing his title to Strickland at UFC 297. According to reports, the former champion had been fighting all this while with injuries and took the hiatus to fully recover and make a fresh comeback.

I kind of consider it a 50-50 coin flip, man. I really do. I'm very curious to see what type of Izzy comes back. In a lot of ways, selfishly, I'm pulling for him because, you know, the division is much better with a talented and, you know, championship-level Israel Adesanya in the division.Eric Nicksick on MMAFightingonSBN

However, the MMA coach also noted that 'Stillknocks's performance against Strickland, made him an equally probable contender to walk away with the middleweight championship. He highlighted that the South African's unorthodox style made him a tough challenge for Adesanya. It will be interesting to see how the bout turns out this August at UFC 305.

In case you missed it!

In my head he never lost the belt. It was such a close fight with Dricus. He dominated Izzy. I think if Izzy wins that fight that's an easy rematch Izzy's gonna want to get that revenge. If Dricus wins you think give Sean the opportunity to avenge that loss.Eric Nicksick on MMAFightingonSBN I kind of consider it a 50-50 coin flip, man. I really do. I'm very curious to see what type of Izzy comes back. In a lot of ways, selfishly, I'm pulling for him because, you know, the division is much better with a talented and, you know, championship-level Israel Adesanya in the division.Eric Nicksick on MMAFightingonSBN

(1469 Articles Published)

Neial N Bhuyan is a boxing/MMA writer at FirstSportz. He has been a MMA journalist since 2023 and has published over 1300 articles. Neial has extensively covered multiple UFC title fights and crossover boxing matches for FirstSportz. He has invested over half a decade of his life in writing and the exciting prospect of mixed martial arts and boxing has enriched his life and helped him resonate with the millions of MMA fans worldwide through his writing. Neial himself has ventured into the world of boxing ever since he started writing about combat sports. The rich culture and cerebral nature of the game have helped him better understand the multiple nuances and intricate details of the sport. He has also invested time exploring the lives of the incredible athletes who have dedicated themselves to MMA and boxing. This in turn has helped Neial better present the rich culture and spirit of mixed martial arts and boxing to the world.