Sean Strickland’s Head Coach Eric Nicksick Previews UFC 297 Matchup Against Dricus Du Plessis (video)

Timothy James

December 11, 2023

Sean Strickland’s head coach Eric Nicksick joined James Lynch to break down UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s upcoming title fight vs Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, sharing his insights into how his team is preparing for the showdown.

Dricus Du Plessis Has Improved, Says Sean Strickland’s Coach Eric Nicksick

Eric Nicksick once prepared his fighter Brad Tavares for a fight with Dricus du Plessis – and the renowned MMA coach believes the South African bruiser has only gotten better since then.

“I feel like Dricus has gotten a lot better since he [fought Brad Tavares], he’s added some different tools to his game,” Nicksick explained. “It’s definitely going to be a chess match for me.”

Part of what makes that chess match intriguing is the fact that du Plessis has a style that is hard to prep for.

“It’s hard to find somebody … to emulate what Dricus does … he’s more of a vision athlete. He reminds me a lot of like, Elias Theodorou … [his ] punches come from different angles, he’s kind of erratic.”

That unpredictability is a factor – but so is du Plessis’ power.

“[du Plessis] is also a juggernaut,” Nicksick continued. “When he wants to go forward, he’s going forward. He does hit hard … I didn’t feel like it was fair the way that people would attack his cardio, because whether he was tired or not, the dude was always still fighting.”

It’s the kind of respect of an upcoming opponent you’d expect from one of MMA coaching’s keenest minds – and the kind of respect that Nicksick feels will prepare Sean Strickland for his first title defense.

“Sean is a guy that … could push a 5-round pace, he could drag guys into deep waters. It’s very different for a lot of people,” Nicksick stated. “[Strickland] is already kind of in camp shape, already before camp’s started.”