Eric Nicksick is hoping Sean Strickland will be able to avoid a rematch with fellow UFC star Alex Pereira.
Strickland met Pereira in a middleweight contest in 2022, and suffered a brutal, first-round knockout loss at the hands of the hulking Brazilian.
Pereira, a former two-division Glory kickboxing champ, then went on to win the UFC middleweight title, and later, the light heavyweight title, which is still in his possession.
Today, he is considered one of the most fearsome knockout artists in all of MMA — a reputation earned, in part, through his knockout win over Strickland.
Strickland still competes in the middleweight division, so a rematch with Pereira currently seems unlikely, but the Brazilian has recently expressed interest in moving back down to middleweight, in which case a second meeting between the pair is totally possible.
Nicksick, who serves as Strickland's head coach at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, is hoping it doesn't come to that.
“That’s a nightmare,” Nicksick told Submission Radio. “That’s a nightmare, to relive that all over again. Just stay up there at 205 [pounds] man, do your thing up there.
"We’re good."
The good news for Nicksick and Strickland is that Pereira is currently booked for a light heavyweight title defense opposite Khalil Rountree at UFC 307, and will most likely defend his title against top contender Magomed Ankalaev after that. That means a middleweight return is unlikely for the time being. Pereira has also teased a move all the way up to heavyweight, which would seemingly rule out the 37-year-old moving back down to middleweight for good.
Like Pereira, Strickland is a former middleweight champion. He won the title with a shocking decision win over Israel Adesanya last year, but lost it in his first defense, suffering a controversial decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 in January.
In the time since, Strickland has rebounded with a decision win over Paulo Costa, and is now expected to be next in line for a shot at Du Plessis.
