Sean Strickland shares thoughts on coaching dynamics in the wake of Bella Mir loss: "Your dad shouldn't be your coach"
Sean Strickland recently took to social media to comment on whether a fighter's loved ones should serve as their coaches, and the UFC middleweight champ isn't in favor of it.
Sean Strickland has never been one to mince his words, and in the aftermath of Bella Mir's deflating loss to Alex Apodaca at Dana White's Contender Series 89, he shared his thoughts on fighters being coached by their loved ones.
Loved ones shouldn't coach fighters, so says Sean Strickland
The Dana White's Contender Series 89 main event was meant to be Bella Mir's crowning moment. She was undefeated at 4-0, was an astonishing -6000 favorite, and had talked a big game about wanting to immortalize herself as a UFC champion, UFC BJJ champion, Zuffa Boxing champion, and an Olympic gold medalist. Yet, come fight night, she encountered disaster against her opponent, Alex Apodaca, who defeated her via unanimous decision in a women's bantamweight bout. It was a crushing loss for Mir and caused her mother to embark on a social media rampage targeting Apodaca.
However, reigning UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland appears to be more focused on her legendary father, Frank Mir, who is one of her coaches. On a recent post made on X, he expressed his disapproval over fathers and other loved ones coaching fighters.
"Your dad shouldn't be your coach, your boyfriend shouldn't be your coach, your husband shouldn't be your coach. That should be the first rule of MMA."
To Strickland's point, several UFC women's fighters have or had their loved ones as coaches. Two-time UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, for example, is occasionally coached by her fiancé Pat Barry, a former UFC heavyweight standout. Another former UFC women's champion who was coached or, at least, cornered by a romantic partner is Miesha Tate, who once reigned over the women's bantamweight division and had previously dated former UFC bantamweight Bryan Caraway.
Strickland himself is no stranger to issues relating to coaches. After losing via unanimous decision at UFC 312, where Dricus du Plessis defeated him to retain the middleweight title, his coach, Eric Nicksick blasted him in the media, leading to a brief split. More recently, Din Thomas has come under fire for his comments about Gillian Robertson, who he cornered at UFC 330, where she lost to Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision in a women's strawweight tile fight. Strickland also weighed in on the controversy, tearing Thomas apart on social media, which led to a brief exchange with ex-UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
