Eric Nicksick, the head coach of reigning UFC middleweight world champion Sean Strickland, believes that his fighter’s first title defense will ultimately come down to who can control the pace.
On January 20, the outspoken titleholder will return to the Octagon to defend his title for the first time since scoring a stunning unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya in December. Hoping to end Strickland’s reign early is South African standout Dricus Du Plessis. Fresh off a shocking second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker over the summer, ‘Stillknocks’ is ready to take advantage of his first shot at UFC gold.
Eric Nicksick Says the Hardest Fight of a Fighter’s Career is ‘Your First Title Defense’
Speaking with James Lynch on behalf of InsideFighting, Nicksick believes that Strickland’s success will be contingent on his ability to manage Du Plessis’ furious pace in the first half of the fight before slowing things down to something more to his own liking.
“I think it’s going to be a matter of setting a precedent on the pace,” Nicksick said. “I feel like Dricus is going to come out hard, heavy, and fast right away and we’re gonna have to manage that pace in the first couple of rounds. Once Sean gets into the fight, I think that’s when Sean’s really going to be able to take over, but I expect it to be a barnburner. Both of these guys are right where they belong.
“I was always told by Randy [Couture] and something I always look at is, the hardest fight of your career is your first title defense. It’s going to be up to us to make sure we’re on our P’s and Q’s and go out there and defend this belt.”
Awesome chat with coach Eric Nicksick who talked …
✅Sean Strickland's prep for his #UFC297 title fight
✅Coaching Brad Tavares vs. Dricus Du Plessis in past
✅Francis Ngannou's next move – Boxing or MMA?Full interview via @InsideFighting_ https://t.co/3d3vgytoOI pic.twitter.com/YlGYdNagVF
— James Lynch (@LynchOnSports) December 12, 2023
Sean Strickland goes into the contest with a 15-3 record inside the Octagon and a winner in his last three fights.
His opponent, Dricus Du Plessis, is undefeated under the UFC banner, dispatching his first six opponents with only one of them going the distance.
Watch the full interview below:
