Nick Diaz is back at the gym, now training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, where Sean Strickland is one of the team leaders. Earlier this week, the two UFC veterans met for the first time.
Strickland is preparing to face Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Houston on Feb. 21. In a video released by Jake Shields’ Fight Back MMA page on social media, Strickland noticed Diaz in the gym during a training session in the cage, where the two fighters shared a moment.
Check out Diaz and Strickland’s first meeting below.
“That’s awesome, I got to get rolling with you, dude,” Strickland told Diaz. “F*cking legend over here, guys. It’s crazy. …
“That’s a f*cking legend, guys.”
Strickland looks to get back on track after over a year out of the octagon. In his most recent appearance, Strickland dropped a lopsided unanimous decision in a rematch to then-champ Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 in February 2025. The former middleweight champ faces a surging Hernandez, who enters the bout on an impressive eight-fight win streak, including a Performance of the Year contending submission win over Roman Dolidze in the main event of UFC Vegas 109 this past August.
While Diaz is back to training while maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Strickland told Diaz about how he used to watch the past UFC title challenger as he was growing up — and Diaz gave his props right back.
“The moral of the story is, when I was a kid, I used to watch you, bro,” Strickland told Diaz. “I’d be in my f*cking boxer shorts in the living room watching you scrap, dog. It was dope, dude.”
“Now I watch you,” Diaz responded.
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