A fight between Islam Makhachev and Sean Strickland may never happen inside the Octagon. But, according to several reports, a fight involving people closely connected to both men may have already occurred.

Reports surfaced following the June 20 UFC fight night event at Meta Apex, claiming that Makhachev’s longtime manager, Ali Abdelaziz, and Sean Strickland‘s coach, Eric Nicksick, were involved in a physical altercation during the Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi event. According to the reports, Abdelaziz, who was at the event representing Kape as his manager, allegedly punched the Xtreme Couture head coach, leading to an altercation, prompting UFC security to intervene and separate the two. For weeks, neither man publicly addressed the incident, while Kape and Strickland, both of whom train at the Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, continued to trade barbs on the internet. Now, Nicksick has finally offered his side of the story.

“I told him Argentina was going to beat Egypt,” Nickick told Ariel Helwani laughingly. “No, I mean, dude, we’re brothers, man, and we’re passionate. Unfortunately, you know, you get in an argument with your wife, and it happens in the house, right? This happened more in front of people, so it became a little more public. But we’ve been friends for 15 years. We argue, we fight, we bicker, and literally, we’re over it the next day. So it wasn’t that big of a deal.”  

Rather than fueling the speculation, Nicksick downplayed the entire episode, describing it as a disagreement between longtime friends rather than the serious feud many believed it to be. So when Ariel Helwani asked him about the dinner he, Ali Abdelaziz, and Manel Kape were recently seen having, the Xtreme Couture head coach revealed that the renowned MMA manager had apologized to him and the two had ultimately buried the hatchet.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t take it personally,” Nicksick said. “I understand what he’s upset about, but it really has nothing to do with me. So we got it all squashed. We have too much to lose, man. We have too many guys in common. We’re on the brink of a title fight with Manel. But we’re all good.”

When Helwani later pressed him on what actually happened backstage, the 46-year-old admitted he still wasn’t entirely sure how the confrontation escalated.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really know what happened,” Nicksick added.

When asked directly whether any punches had actually been thrown by Abdelaziz, Nicksick replied that even if it was, it was “nothing that affected me,” implying that it didn’t cause him any real damage.

While the answer leaves room for interpretation, it wouldn’t be the first time Makhachev’s manager has found himself at the center of such an altercation. 

Abdelaziz allegedly punched fellow MMA manager Abe Kawa at a PFL event after Kawa reportedly spread rumors that the Egyptian had assaulted a UFC staff member. Following the incident, PFL banned Abdelaziz from attending its events. But the battery charges against him were later dropped.

Although Nicksick insists the matter has been resolved, he acknowledged that Sean Strickland’s long-running criticism of Abdelaziz may have in some way contributed to the tension between the two.

Sean Strickland’s feud with Ali Abdelaziz may have added fuel to the fire

Sean Strickland has always been critical of Ali Abdelaziz, taking verbal shots at the Egyptian MMA manager on multiple occasions. However, following reports of the backstage incident, the UFC middleweight champion once again took aim at Abdelaziz on social media, prompting Manel Kape to defend his manager. The exchange quickly sparked a heated online back-and-forth.

Addressing that, Ariel Helwani asked Nicksick whether Strickland’s criticism of Abdelaziz may have actually been the root cause of the backstage altercation. The Xtreme Couture coach admitted that it may have played at least some part in what happened.

“I think that’s some of the stuff,” Nicksick said during the same interview. “Sean was in Florida. You know, Sean’s one of those guys where it’s like, even with the Poirier thing, he says something, then he walks it back, and, you know.”

Here, Nicksick was referring to Strickland’s recent public apology to Dustin Poirier after initially criticizing the former interim champion following his arrest. However, whether Strickland ever extends that same olive branch to Abdelaziz remains to be seen.

That said, with Eric Nicksick finally shedding some light on what happened, it’s clear there is no existing bad blood between the two camps.