UFC champion Sean Strickland's habit of stoking controversy dissected by Dominick Cruz and Eric Nicksick

Sean Strickland has been regarded as one of the most polarizing personalities in the MMA realm and beyond over the past few years. 

MMA legend Dominick Cruz and Strickland's longtime coach Eric Nicksick have now chimed in on his penchant for making contentious comments and courting controversy. 

Sean Strickland's ascent to stardom and tendency to make controversial remarks

Sean Strickland was initially unable to break through into the upper echelons of the UFC as a welterweight, but his middleweight run saw him become a two-time UFC middleweight champion.

The American is currently in his second reign as the 185-pound division's ruler. With the success, "Tarzan" achieved stardom and access to a broader audience.

Well, Strickland has consistently utilized the same to make some rather far-reaching and controversial comments on a myriad of socio-political topics, even some incredibly sensitive issues wherein he's put forth remarks deemed as incendiary by many.

Some of his detractors have often accused him of holding anti-LGBTQ, misogynistic, and generally bigoted views and making allegedly discriminatory comments along those lines. 

Dominick Cruz and Eric Nicksick suggest that Sean Strickland doesn't necessarily believe some of his outlandish takes, uses them to provoke people

In an edition of Love & War with Dominick Cruz, podcast host and former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz welcomed Xtreme Couture representative and coach Eric Nicksick. Sean Strickland has long trained at the gym and under the tutelage of Nicksick. 

Speaking of which, Nicksick is believed to be one of the few individuals who possesses a nuanced understanding of who Strickland is behind the outspoken persona he presents in the public domain. 

A notable example of Strickland's affinity toward making comments that are likely to spark outrage was his drawing an NSFW comparison between ex-UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and a female at a party. 

For his part, Cruz indicated that Strickland probably doesn't hold the bizarre views that he often espouses. "The Dominator" stated, "I feel like some of this stuff he says, he believes it, but he's like, not really all the way behind it all the time." 

Nicksick appeared to concur and implied that he does so to rile people up. He and Cruz seemingly agreed that fazing people is perhaps a significant reason why Strickland speaks and acts the way he does. The MMA trainer asserted, "Sometimes, it's to get a rise out of people." 

Moreover, Cruz weighed in by crediting Strickland for his ability to get under others' skin, saying, "He knows what he's doing. He knows how to p**s people off. And it's funny. It's always funny. I'll say that." 

Strickland is coming off a split decision win against the then-unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev in their UFC middleweight championship clash that transpired back in May. He's said to have recovered well from his shoulder injury and is expected to be fully prepared for his potential return in December, which could be a rematch against his training partner-turned-rival Khamzat Chimaev. 

Watch Dominick Cruz and Eric Nicksick discuss Sean Strickland's habit of stoking controversy below (*comments at the 1:31:16-minute mark of the video):