Sean Strickland could stun Israel Adesanya in potential clash: Coach Eric Nicksick
Coach Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture MMA said that he understands Israel Adesanya's fighting style, and that a fight between the middleweight champion and Sean Strickland would be quite interesting. Nicksick referred to his ward Strickland as being "very technical" and "very bright."
Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya have gone back and forth on a couple of occasions, but the most infamous moment came at the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference. 'Tarzan' went after 'The Last Stylebender' for getting his nails done and enjoying anime.
Eric Nicksick believes that Sean Strickland has what it takes to beat Adesanya. He said in an interview with Submission Radio:
"It's a tough fight for Sean, and we understand that. I've had a game plan against Israel when he fought Brad Tavares. There were mistakes that we made and it wasn't underestimating him by any means. There were just some logistical mistakes that we made. And I learned so much from that fight with Israel."
Nicksick continued:
"Surprisingly, Sean is very technical and he's very bright when it comes to the game. We're really going to have to be on our Ps and Qs if we ever get that Israel fight and really understand it, because I have a pretty good idea of what Israel's approach would be in attacking us, and you know we're going to have to be on our Ps and Qs when we fight a guy like that."
Skip to 31:14 for Eric Nicksick on 'Tarzan' vs. 'The Last Stylebender':
How did Sean Strickland troll Israel Adesanya at UFC 276?
UFC 276 featured the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his fifth title defense against Jared Cannonier. On the same card, his archrival Alex Pereira was booked against Sean Strickland.
Even though they weren't facing each other, 'Tarzan' and 'The Last Stylebender' went back and forth in a hilarious exchange. In response to a query by a reporter, Strickland proclaimed himself to be the best striker with his then-opponent Alex Pereira coming in at second.
He then alluded to 'Poatan' having two wins over Adesanya (before they met at UFC 281), which really seemed to get under Israel Adesanya's skin and the Nigerian-New Zealander fired back at Strickland.
'Tarzan' then said the following:
"Oh man, I made the champion mad with his f*****g frosted tips and his g*y little watch. Oh no! I'm just joking. Izzy is a savage, bro. No doubt."
Strickland then said the following in response to Adesanya claiming that he "smacked him on the a** like his b*tch":
"Bro, your P**nhub is just filled with cartoons bro. No man that be*ts off to cartoons is going to beat me."
Watch Strickland troll Adesanya below: