Tag: Eric Nicksick

Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

The next middleweight title fight would appear to be a rematch of what fight fans saw take place over five rounds in the main event of UFC 297. Dricus Du Plessis won a split decision on that night in January to take the belt from Sean Strickland, following a back-and-forth encounter. After Strickland was able […]

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’ at MMA News.

The next middleweight title fight would appear to be a rematch of what fight fans saw take place over five rounds in the main event of UFC 297.

Dricus Du Plessis won a split decision on that night in January to take the belt from Sean Strickland, following a back-and-forth encounter.

After Strickland was able to bounce back with a win over Paulo Costa and Du Plessis defended the title against Israel Adesanya this past weekend, a rematch is on the cards.

Given how close it was the first time around, there likely isn’t going to be a big change made by either man that will drastically change the way this one plays out – and that’s how Strickland’s head coach sees it.

Eric Nicksick Says He Expects A Similar Fight With Small ‘Chess Match’ Adjustments

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Eric Nicksick spoke about his expectations for preparing Strickland to face Du Plessis for a second time.

He spoke about how the key to this fight will be focusing on small adjustments because they wouldn’t need to do much different to have won the first encounter.

“There are some things and I’ve said them publicly in the past but there are definitely some things that we went away from that would have helped negate that forward pressure and I still firmly believe had we stayed on those things, we would have won that fight and he didn’t do those things, Sean did not do those things. So, we need to get back to some small little changes.

“There’s some things on the ground that I think we can accomplish as well that I would like to revisit with Sean and yeah. I mean it wasn’t this crazy, crazy, ‘Oh dude, we got our a** kicked’. There was just some small little things but now the fun part is the chess match. What are they going to do to go back and make those adjustments and what are they going to expect us to make our adjustments on, and then there’s that little game of chess now. That’ll be the fun part.”

Nicksick also believes that this first fight is going to look very similar to the UFC 297 headliner because of the styles and toughness of both men.

He can’t see a way that it doesn’t end up being a test of both men’s wills when the going gets tough.

“You would love to say, ‘Oh, we’re gonna go in there and smoke this dude’ but Dricus, he’ll look awful and then he comes back and does his thing so you got to expect a knockdown drag out fight. 2-2 going into round five, hey we’re down to the last five minutes, we’re going to have to dig deep and figure out a way to get this fight, that’s how we have to train, that’s how we have to expect it. It’s going to be to the death.”

Read also: Tom Aspinall Has High Praise For Dricus Du Plessis After UFC 305: ‘One Of The Smartest Fighters In The UFC’ 

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’ at MMA News.

Eric Nicksick On Khabib Nurmagomedov Being Unhappy With Belal Muhammad During Training: ‘Punking Belal In Front Of Everybody…’

Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick may be regarded as one of the best coaches in the sport but that doesn’t mean he’s not able to learn things from others in the same field. Since making the decision to retire on top of the sport, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has seamlessly transitioned into a coaching […]

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Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick may be regarded as one of the best coaches in the sport but that doesn’t mean he’s not able to learn things from others in the same field.

Since making the decision to retire on top of the sport, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has seamlessly transitioned into a coaching role.

Not only has he achieved a lot of success in the corner of other fighters, athletes will often share stories of how far coach Khabib will push people in training.

He appears to have taken up a similar coaching style to that of his late father, and if it worked for Abdulmanap, why fix what isn’t broken.

Eric Nicksick Recalls Key Lessons He Was Able To Take Away From Watching Khabib Nurmagomedov Coach

During a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, Nicksick reflected on what it was like getting to watch Nurmagomedov lead sessions at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

He reflected on one story in particular that showed him how professionalism is key to what they do alongside working hard in the gym.

“Those guys do it at the highest standard at the highest level. One of the funny things too was Belal Muhammad brought a guest that was not cleared by Khabib and then like Khabib was not happy about that and just like kind of made me realize like I sometimes open my doors too much and allow people to come and train that we don’t get vetted through the system.”

Nicksick went on to explain that Nurmagomedov walked a fine line between being actually annoyed by this scenario, whilst having fun with it at the same time.

“You could feel like he was joking but he wasn’t, he was serious about it and Belal was like, ‘Oh dude, I’m so sorry,’ you know, and he goes, ‘I don’t know who this guy is.’ Then like the best part is like Khabib and I are sitting here and he kind of looks at me and he’s like, ‘Yeah Eric, are you going to let a guy in your gym that you don’t know, maybe he’s fighting one of your guys,’ like just kind of punking Belal in front of everybody, it was funny. But obviously, Khabib let the guys still continue to train but there was a process to that.”

Read also: Daniel Cormier Pushes Back On Interim Title Talk Amid Islam Makhachev Injury: ‘He’s Fought Twice Very Recently!’ 

Continue Reading Eric Nicksick On Khabib Nurmagomedov Being Unhappy With Belal Muhammad During Training: ‘Punking Belal In Front Of Everybody…’ at MMA News.

Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’

Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently offered insights on the upcoming title showdown between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya set for UFC 305. Du Plessis is set to make the first defense of his middleweight title in a much-awaited showdown of fierce rivalry against Adesanya, headlining the pay-per-view event on August 17 at the […]

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’ at MMA News.

Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently offered insights on the upcoming title showdown between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya set for UFC 305.

Du Plessis is set to make the first defense of his middleweight title in a much-awaited showdown of fierce rivalry against Adesanya, headlining the pay-per-view event on August 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.

“Stillknocks” was originally targeted to challenge Adesanya after his impressive victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023. However, fate had other plans, as an injury sidelined the South African. In the meantime, “The Last Stylebender” suffered an unexpected defeat, losing the middleweight title to Strickland at UFC 293.

Du Plessis made a triumphant return by defeating Strickland in a razor-close split decision, clinching the 185-pound title at UFC 297 this past January. Now, the stage is perfectly set for these two adversaries to finally settle their scores in the Octagon as Adesanya gears up to make his return after an 11-month hiatus—the longest of his UFC career.

Nicksick believes that both fighters are evenly matched heading into UFC 305, but the outcome will hinge on just how much “The Last Stylebender” has sharpened his skills during his time away from the competition…

Nicksick Calls Du Plessis vs. Adesanya a ’50-50′ Battle

During a recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Nicksick dissected the highly anticipated clash between Du Plessis and Adesanya. The renowned MMA coach predicted that both fighters stand on equal footing with an even chance of victory. However, he emphasized that much will depend on how well the former UFC middleweight champion performs after such a lengthy hiatus from the sport.

“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,” Nicksick said. “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.”

Nicksick went on to say that, based on Du Plessis’ performance against Strickland, he sees “Stillknocks” as the favorite. He noted that Du Plessis’ unorthodox style makes him a formidable challenge for Adesanya, potentially giving him the edge in this matchup.

“I really took a liking to Dricus over the last year or so. I wouldn’t say we’re close, but we’re friendly and very respectful towards one another, and I’m pulling for him in a lot of ways because I think he has been severely overlooked over the years. He’s a problem, man, and he’s only getting better. I think the way he’s starting to fight and understand who and what he is as a fighter—he’s awkward in a way like Sean is, but with more power, right? It’s hard—it’s very hard. It was very difficult for us to find particular sparring partners for Dricus’ camp. You’re not going to find many people that can fight like him.”

Du Plessis and Adesanya have been on a collision course long before their fiery face-off at UFC 290. Their upcoming showdown promises to be a captivating spectacle, as both fighters bring their own distinctive and formidable fighting styles to the table.

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’ at MMA News.

Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’

When MMA fans first came across Francis Ngannou, many bought into him because of his destructive one punch knockout power that made him a must-watch addition to the UFC’s roster. It was then his story, and some incredible highlight reel knockouts, that really helped to turn “The Predator” into a big star in the combat […]

Continue Reading Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’ at MMA News.

When MMA fans first came across Francis Ngannou, many bought into him because of his destructive one punch knockout power that made him a must-watch addition to the UFC’s roster.

It was then his story, and some incredible highlight reel knockouts, that really helped to turn “The Predator” into a big star in the combat sports world.

As a result of his incredible journey in life to achieve his dreams after coming from humble beginnings, it’s no surprise that Ngannou is a great person.

He represents combat sports so well by being a tremendous human being so it was no surprise to see the amount of support he received after what he went through earlier this year.

Eric Nicksick Shares Recent Moment From The Gym Where Francis Ngannou Shared His Appreciation For One Of The Coaches

There is sure to be many people that have crossed paths with Ngannou that would be able to talk about the character of the former UFC champion.

Not many know him better than Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick who described his fighter in an interview with MMA Fighting as a “forward thinker” who is “always trying to leave people better off than when he found them”.

When asked to give an example of the kind of person Ngannou is behind closed doors, a moment that recently took place in the gym jumped right into his mind.

Nicksick told the story of how a potentially underappreciated member of the coaching team at the gym, Nathan Pettit, was a recent recipient of Ngannou’s kindness and gratitude.

“Oh 100%. Nate Pettit is one of our coaches at the gym and Nate’s just one of the hardest workers you’re going to see in the room like the guy’s constantly holding the pads for people, constantly on the road. He’s a dog like he’s just a guy that’s like if you walk in the gym right now, Nate’s working and he doesn’t have a family, doesn’t have a life, his life is this gym. So Nate came up to me, we were putting the new cages together, Nate came up to me with like tears in his eyes, this is like two weeks ago and he’s like, ‘Dude, Francis just handed me a cheque and just said thank you for everything that you do.’

“I don’t know what the amount was, I didn’t even ask but it was enough to move this man to tears, to an emotion. I said to Francis later on, I was like hey, thanks for hooking up Nate. He’s like, ‘Of course bro, I see how hard he works and I want to pay him for all the time he’s given to others that maybe it’s not reciprocated back to him.’ So you know, just keeping it in the house, keeping it in the family the way he takes care of his coaching staff and the people around him. Nate had a huge role in helping Francis beat Stipe Miocic, Nate ran those wrestling practices along with Dennis Davis so paying it forward to Nate man, that’s just the type of person that Francis is.”

Read also: Opening Betting Odds Released For Francis Ngannou & Cris Cyborg’s PFL Debuts

Continue Reading Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’ at MMA News.

Manel Kape, Eric Nicksick Suggest Hotel Fight Was Planned Attack From Muhammad Mokaev’s Team Ahead Of UFC 304

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape and his coach believe it was Muhammad Mokaev and his team’s intention to start a brawl days out from their showdown in Manchester, England. The pair of top 125lbers are set to do battle at UFC 304 this weekend, with their matchup marking one of the most important when it […]

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UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape and his coach believe it was Muhammad Mokaev and his team’s intention to start a brawl days out from their showdown in Manchester, England.

The pair of top 125lbers are set to do battle at UFC 304 this weekend, with their matchup marking one of the most important when it comes to direct implications to a divisional title picture.

And more than just their career ambitions, it would appear that both are being driven by some bad blood in this one.

That boiled over on Wednesday night at the fighter hotel, where the two fighters and their teams got into a brawl. Footage was posted by the @Home_of_Fight page on X and showed security personnel frantically attempting to pull the two sides apart.

Spur-of-the-moment brawls are nothing new in the UFC, but that’s not what one side of the scrap believes happened…

Kape & Nicksick Claim Hotel Fight Was A Set-Up

Following the incident, Kape took to social media to give his side of the story.

The former Rizin champion claimed Mokaev had respectfully asked to take a picture with him before attempting to sucker-punch him. “Starboy” berated his UFC 304 opponent for the “betrayal,” insisting his actions weren’t befitting of their shared religion and promising “carnage” from here on out.

Interestingly, Kape also made note of an altercation in Las Vegas, admitting to hitting Mokaev but doing so in a fairer way. The Angola-born Portuguese flyweight had previously denied rumors of a physical clash with “The Punisher” at the UFC’s Performance Institute.

“What kind of Muslim are you? You gave me Salam asked to take a picture and then tried to punch me in the betrayal, i can see now you are not a child of the (Dagestan), because there are created men you are just a poor bastard raised on a low income in Manchester without honor and principles,” Kape wrote. “When I hit you in Vegas I went alone and I told you to be ready, I don’t hit men with their guard down or distracted or on the back. I thought everything was solved, but now the carnage will continue… Shaytan!”

Kape’s claim was quickly corroborated by his coach, Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick. The renowned trained told MMA Junkie that Mokaev had approached Kape under the guise of taking a photo with a “Muslim brother.” Nicksick stated that Kape was then attacked by the opposition team.

The image posted by Kape showing a cut to Mokaev’s head would appear to be from the aftermath of their Vegas clash, with the Dagestan-born Brit posting a clean-faced picture to refute suggestions he emerged damaged from their hotel fight.

Continue Reading Manel Kape, Eric Nicksick Suggest Hotel Fight Was Planned Attack From Muhammad Mokaev’s Team Ahead Of UFC 304 at MMA News.

Coach Eric Nicksick Lays Heavy Praise On Tom Aspinall Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘He Hits Pads Like Some Of My 145ers’ 

Renowned mixed martial arts coach Eric Nicksick was left impressed by the ability of Tom Aspinall when the interim UFC heavyweight champion stopped by the Xtreme Couture gym. Aspinall is currently gearing up for his first assignment of 2024. It’s set to be a big one, as he’ll defend the interim belt in a rematch […]

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Renowned mixed martial arts coach Eric Nicksick was left impressed by the ability of Tom Aspinall when the interim UFC heavyweight champion stopped by the Xtreme Couture gym.

Aspinall is currently gearing up for his first assignment of 2024. It’s set to be a big one, as he’ll defend the interim belt in a rematch with veteran contender Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event of the UFC 304 pay-per-view.

While not the unification showdown with Jon Jones that he had hoped for, Aspinall will be making the walk in front of his home crowd, with Manchester’s Co-op Live hosting UFC action for the very first time.

Should Aspinall emerge with the interim title still in his possession, those pushing for Jones to abandon his plans to face Stipe Miocic will no doubt grow louder. Many of them are so high on Aspinall that they believe he could get the better of the consensus greatest of all time.

And when it comes to those with a keen eye for talent, Aspinall couldn’t do much better than one recent endorsement…

Nicksick High On Aspinall After Xtreme Couture Training

During a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA, Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick looked ahead to the UFC’s next numbered event, paying particular attention to one of two champs set to headline it on July 27.

During a trip to the US earlier this year, Aspinall got some work in with Nicksick at his Las Vegas facility. In addition to the pair bonding and forming a friendship, the renowned coach got to see first hand the kind of skills that have left the interim champ widely branded the leader in the next generation of heavyweights.

“Man, he was just as advertised as an athlete, but I think moreover just the human being that he is,” Nicksick said. “You see these guys on TV and you see their athleticism and how well they fight. That’s one thing, but then when you get to meet the individual and actually have a conversation with him and see how great of a human being they are, that even raises your level of enthusiasm.

“Him and his brother came in and they were just a joy to work with,” Nicksick continued. “I’m a Tom Aspinall fan and I’m super excited to see him fight. … He’s in that top three (heavyweights in the world), a hundred percent. And I think he’s just scratching the surface with his potential. The athleticism that he has, from the feet to the floor, what he’s able to do, all of it is very high level. The thing I noticed the most about him was his feet, how well he moved side to side; his lateral moment, his speed. … Honest to god, he hits pads like some of my 145ers. He understands the angles and how to hit and not be hit.”

Aspinall will look to show the talents Nicksick mentioned when he makes the walk on home soil for the third consecutive year.

And having had his headliner with Blaydes end in disaster in the summer of 2022, the Manchester native has the chance to right that wrong and avenge the sole setback on his UFC slate thus far.

Nicksick himself will likely be watching on, be it from the arena or fighter hotel in the English city. The top coach is scheduled to be at UFC 304 to corner Manel Kape for his flyweight showdown with Muhammad Mokaev on the main card.

Continue Reading Coach Eric Nicksick Lays Heavy Praise On Tom Aspinall Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘He Hits Pads Like Some Of My 145ers’  at MMA News.