Sean Strickland’s coach has had just about enough of Sal D’Amato at the judges’ table.
Last night (Feb. 5), Strickland shared the Octagon with Jack Hermansson. The middleweight scrap headlined UFC Vegas 47 inside the UFC Apex. The bout went the distance and by the time it was over, fight fans and media members felt the decision was clearly in favor of Strickland.
Well, it was clear to everyone except Sal who scored the fight 48-47 for Hermansson. His score total was overruled by Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo, who both had the fight 49-46 for Strickland.
Taking to his Twitter account, Eric Nicksick, coach of Sean Strickland, expressed his belief that Sal D’Amato should be relieved of his duties.
Not even one media member scored it for Jack. I know we won, but if this guy is still judging, he will continue to make egregious decisions and ultimately cost fighters their careers and livelihood. #fireSal pic.twitter.com/g70PizTsuO
— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA) February 6, 2022
“Not even one media member scored it for Jack. I know we won, but if this guy is still judging, he will continue to make egregious decisions and ultimately cost fighters their careers and livelihood. #fireSal.”
After the fight, Strickland admitted that he didn’t have the ideal performance. He went as far as to say he didn’t even treat his time in the Octagon as an actual fight.
I probably shouldn't say this and no disrespect to Jack he's a warrior… but I feel like I didn't even try this fight.. Like I was treating it like a low level sparring match.. very disappointing… let the pressure get to me… won't happen again..
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) February 6, 2022
“I probably shouldn’t say this and no disrespect to Jack he’s a warrior… but I feel like I didn’t even try this fight.. Like I was treating it like a low-level sparring match.. very disappointing… let the pressure get to me… won’t happen again..”
Regardless, Strickland has now extended his winning streak to six. He hasn’t lost a fight since May 2018. Going into his fight with Hermansson, Strickland was the number seven-ranked UFC middleweight. He will jump up at least one spot once the rankings are updated.
It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for Strickland. He’s likely headed for top five competition. Ahead of him in the rankings are Paulo Costa, Derek Brunson, Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori, and Robert Whittaker before the champion Israel Adesanya.