Eric Nicksick: Sean Strickland one of the best teammates in the room at Xtreme Couture

Sean Strickland may get a bad rep, but his coach says he’s the ultimate team player.

Strickland (25-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) unapologetically speaks his mind, which has resulted in many controversial statements. But the top middleweight contender’s results in the octagon are no mistake according to his head coach, Eric Nicksick, who says Strickland spends nearly his entire day at the gym and always is available for his training partners.

“He’s one of the best teammates you’re going to have in the room,” Nicksick said in an interview with Morning Kombat. “He’s a guy that, he pushes each individual in here and it doesn’t matter the weight class. He’ll come in for early sparring when the 145’ers will come in a little bit earlier to get work – Sean’s here early and helping coach these guys, help cornering these guys.

“He has a delivery to him … that old-school weight training coach that’s yelling at you and screaming at you. I like that mentality. A lot of people might push away from that mentality. So I just had a conversation with him recently. He had a good point about one of our fighters, but it was the delivery that he was saying it in.

“He’s not like this wild man with his hair on fire every day when he comes in here, but he does have this edge to him, and I think that edge reminds me of the Xtreme Couture of the past. Maybe that’s why I really find him endearing, and I think a lot of the guys that have been here for a long time do, as well.”

Strickland’s brash nature doesn’t necessarily match his fighting style. The 31-year-old has shown composure and a volume of striking that has overwhelmed his past six opponents. He meets former two-division Glory kickboxing champion Alex Pereira at UFC 276 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

“He is actually very smart,” Nicksick said. “I think he is very, very calculated, and for Sean, I always say this to him: The term is ‘calculated chaos.’ Almost when you watch Justin Gaethje, it looks like it’s very chaotic times. But it’s very calculated, as well, for him, and I feel like Sean’s a similar type of style.

“When Sean applies his pressure, I see it day in and day out – he’s a pressure fighter, he’s in your face and he has a lot of volume. He might not be the hardest puncher in the division, but it’s that punches in bunches and that volume and it starts to set up his power. So he’s almost like that base-hit guy and then all of a sudden the home run kind of set itself up.”

UFC 276 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.