Strickland Fires At Thomas After Corner Retirement

Sean Strickland has gone after longtime MMA coach Din Thomas for announcing his retirement from cornering fighters moments after his charge Gillian Robertson lost a UFC title fight.

Thomas, who works as an analyst for UFC broadcasts, was in Robertson's corner Saturday night when she fell short against strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. According to BJPenn.com, Thomas revealed on the post-fight show that he would no longer be cornering fighters, a decision that drew immediate criticism for its timing.

Strickland Questions Thomas's Professionalism After Public Retirement

Strickland took to social media to blast the decision, per Bloody Elbow. The former middleweight champion pointed to his own losses across multiple weight classes before winning two titles and suggested Thomas was letting Robertson down by making such a public statement so soon after her defeat. When a fan defended Thomas online, Strickland doubled down, writing that the coach was putting the fighter down after she tried her best.

The controversy centers on whether Thomas should have waited before announcing such a major career decision. Many in the MMA community felt the immediate post-fight setting was unprofessional given Robertson had just come up short in the biggest fight of her career. Thomas has built a reputation as one of the sport's more respected cornermen, making the abrupt nature of the announcement all the more surprising.

Dern successfully defended her strawweight title for the first time at UFC 330, while Robertson drops to a title fight record of 0-1.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Din Thomas slammed by Sean Strickland after retiring from cornering following UFC 330