Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) will look to earn a title shot when he takes on middleweight Anthony Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 267 (Paramount+) on Feb. 21 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
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Strickland dubbed Hernandez the “American Chimaev,” a test that is key for him to pass in preparation for Chimaev’s grappling prowess. Nicksick, Strickland’s head trainer at Xtreme Couture, said his wrestling is better than many think.
“I know as far as knowing how good Sean’s wrestling is,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “Everyone here knows how well Sean can wrestle and his ground game. Unfortunately, we don’t see him as much as we’d like in a fight… I think there’s a lot of backstory with Chimaev being here and training with us. He was a great asset to the gym and the team when he and Darren Till came out. It was funny because those guys really hit it off and then all of a sudden they were going back and forth on social media for this prep.”
Nicksick was frustrated with Strickland after he lost to Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision in their rematch at UFC 312. The Xtreme Couture boss claims that everything is back to normal between the pair and that he will be in Strickland’s corner against Hernandez.
“Some of the things that Sean and I were discussing were things that I think we needed to improve on as far as training, drilling, preparation, and he’s convinced,” Nicksick said. “At the end of the day, wins and losses come and go, but for me it’s a lot about our preparation and how invested we are in preparing for these types of fights. Man, he’s been involved. Not only has he been involved, but so has the team.”
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Like Chimaev, Hernandez possesses a dominant running game.
“My expectations are not to be there,” Nicksick said. “We control that, we control that pace. You don’t want to get stuck in those positions with ‘Fluffy,’ and that’s where he shines. His mat comes back, his press, his ground and his striking. And if we stay there for too long, it’s going to be a problem. Our main focus is A, not being there and B, if we’re there, not being there for too long.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Eric Nicksick is confident Sean Strickland can test Khamzat Chimaev