Undefeated UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev enters each of his fights with a boogeyman aura about him that perhaps has affected previous opponents, but Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick is certain that won’t be the case with Sean Strickland.
Given Strickland’s knack for unsavory trash talk, which he’s already hurled Chimaev’s way, there’s genuine concern from at least one UFC analyst that the tension between both men will get “real ugly” as UFC 328 (Paramount+) draws near. So when Strickland steps into the octagon to fight Chimaev on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark N.J., Nicksick knows his challenge is to make sure his fighter finds the right balance between aggression and patience.
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“It’s one of those situations with Sean where he’s gonna meet you in the middle, and he’s not gonna back down, he’s not gonna be timid. But we also have to understand how to manage that type of energy,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie Radio. “You don’t want to go out there, turn this into a bar fight, and both guys are dead tired by the end of the second round or something like that. Minimizing your risk (is key) but also allowing your guy to do what he does really well, and that’s put pressure on people – but doing it smartly. You don’t want to overthrow, you don’t want to be keeping yourself off balance, because that’s where Khamzat does a very good job of making his connections.
“So keeping (Strickland) calm and cool, certainly in the first couple of rounds, is gonna be very important. And then once we can start taxing Khamzat in the later rounds, if it gets that far, then that’s where I think Sean can start opening up and applying his game plan.”
There is one advantage Strickland will have h (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) heading into UFC 328 – and that’s a coach who has stood in front of Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and held pads for him. Back in 2022, Nicksick welcomed Chimaev to Xtreme Couture, where he spent time training with Strickland. Nicksick remembers it well and has used the knowledge gained from that period in preparation for UFC 328.
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“He’s very good at blending his level changes into his striking and his wrestling, and I think that, to me, is something you have to be very aware of,” Nicksick said. “Guys tend to underhook and when you underhook, you’re automatically making an attachment. You’re inviting him to go chest to chest with you. So there’s a couple of layers of defense that I think we have to get ahead of. … Then you also can’t be committed to dropping underhooks because that’s gonna set up his overhand without you allowing yourself to have a lead-arm defense. There’s a lot of things I think we have to make sure we’re shoring up, and then also just the pace and the cardio that we’re expecting him to be able to have.”
UFC 328 will mark Strickland’s fourth title fight in the past three years and the second time he’ll try to reclaim the belt. In some ways, it feels like the first time when he claimed the title from Israel Adesanya in September 2023 at UFC 293. But not exactly.
“As much as we were talking about the important of the title (against Adesanya), in this particular fight, the title is kind of a byproduct,” Nicksick said. “It just feels like we’re fighting Khamzat, and if we win, luckily this title happens to be there. But it’s more about bragging rights almost. It feels like a different connotation to me.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 328: Coach opens up on keys to Sean Strickland success
