Eric Nicksick: Sean Strickland has wrestling to challenge Khamzat Chimaev

Eric Nicksick has seen Sean Strickland and UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev train together first hand.

Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) will look to earn a title shot when he takes on streaking middleweight Anthony Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 267 headliner (Paramount+) Feb. 21 at Toyota Center in Houston.

Strickland dubbed Hernandez as the "American Chimaev," a test that's key for him to pass in preparation for Chimaev's grappling prowess. Nicksick, Strickland's head coach at Xtreme Couture, said his wrestling is better than many think.

"I do in the regards of just knowing how good Sean's wrestling is," Nicksick told MMA Junkie. "Everyone in here knows how good Sean can wrestle and his ground game. Unfortunately we don't see it as much as we'd like in a fight. ... I think there's a lot of backstory there with Chimaev being out here and training with us. He was a huge asset to the gym and the team when he and Darren Till came out. It was funny because those guys really hit it off and then all of a sudden, they were going back-and-forth on social media for this buildup."

Nicksick was frustrated with Strickland after he lost to Dricus Du Plessisby unanimous decision in their UFC 312 rematch. The Xtreme Couture head honcho assures that everything is back on track between the pair, and that he will be in Strickland's corner against Hernandez.

"Some of the things Sean and I were butting heads on were things that I think we needed to be better at as far as the training, the drilling, the preparation, and he's bought in," Nicksick said. "At the end of the day, wins and losses are going to come and go, but to me it's a lot about our preparation and how invested we are in preparing for these types of fights. Man, he's been all in. Not only has he been all in, so has the team."

Like Chimaev, Hernandez possesses a dominant ground game.

"My expectations are not to be there," Nicksick said. "We control that, we control that pace. You don't want to be stuck in those positions with 'Fluffy,' and that is where he shines. His mat returns, his pressure, his ground and pound. And if we're staying there long, it's going to be a problem. Our main focus is A, not to be there and B, if we are there, don't be there long."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Eric Nicksick confident Sean Strickland can test Khamzat Chimaev