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Francis Ngannou Almost Withdrew From MMA Return Due To Injury, Coach Reveals

Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou made a successful return to mixed martial arts this past weekend, but as it turns out, injury had threatened to derail it. Ngannou entered the cage on Saturday for the first time since a victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. After departing the promotion and signing […]

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Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou made a successful return to mixed martial arts this past weekend, but as it turns out, injury had threatened to derail it.

Ngannou entered the cage on Saturday for the first time since a victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. After departing the promotion and signing with the PFL, “The Predator” turned his attention to the chance to complete a long-desired boxing crossover.

While his success against Tyson Fury left many questioning whether he’d compete in MMA again, a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua this past March was soon followed by confirmation of his SmartCage debut.

That came on October 19 in the main event of the PFL’s second pay-per-view of the year, staged at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou showed he hasn’t lost a step, taking Renan Ferreira down and ground-and-pounding him to a first-round knockout.

During an interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn in the aftermath of the PFL event in the Middle East, coach Eric Nicksick reflected on the hardships his man endured this year.

And when it came to fight camp for Saturday’s Battle of the Giants event, that included a rib injury that came close to scrapping the main event altogether.

“It was bad enough to where you’ve got to think: He blew out his knee and wasn’t going to pull out of the Ciryl Gane fight, (but almost pulled out of this one),” Nicksick said. “There’s a difference, different stakes, but also it was a different type of pain for him, and obviously we had a grappling-heavy game plan.

“He was worried if he was on his back, how he would be able to move and try to grapple with an injured rib. Once he went to the doctors and they cleared him with an MRI and everything else, I think he realized, ‘I’m going to be OK. I’m going to get through this still.’”

Ngannou ultimately overcame that piece of adversity, which marked far from his toughest experience of this year.

Following his boxing defeat to “AJ,” the Cameroonian star tragically lost his son, Kobe, at the age of just 15 months. Ngannou admitted that his child’s passing brought him close to retirement, and he dedicated the win on Saturday to Kobe.

Read More: Conor McGregor Gives Mocking Review Of PFL’s Battle Of The Giants PPV: ‘UFC Has Zero Competition’

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Francis Ngannou ‘Most intrigued’ by Deontay Wilder fight following UFC departure: ‘That’s what he wants to do’

Francis Ngannou Deontay Wilder Boxing Fight UFC Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou appears to be most interested in making an immediate transition to professional boxing following his departure from the promotion last month, according to his head coach, Eric Nicksick, who also claimed a clash with former WBC champion, Deontay Wilder has piqued his interest. Ngannou, a former undisputed UFC heavyweight […]

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou appears to be most interested in making an immediate transition to professional boxing following his departure from the promotion last month, according to his head coach, Eric Nicksick, who also claimed a clash with former WBC champion, Deontay Wilder has piqued his interest.

Ngannou, a former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, officially departed the organization last month following the completion of his contractual obligations on December 9. last. And in the time since, has been linked with an immediate transition to the squared circle.

Amongst potential opponents for the Cameroon knockout artist; WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, as well as former heavyweight kingpin, Anthony Joshua, however, the aforenoted Tucasloosa native, Wilder has offered to twice fight Francis Ngannou – first in boxing then in mixed martial arts competition.

Francis Ngannou weighing up fight with Deontay Wilder

And after welcoming a fight with Wilder, Ngannou, who claimed he would only take a boxing matchup with the former in a bid to allow him to “keep his limbs” – the Cameroon punchers appears most interested in a fight with a former WBC titleholder.

“We spoke all last week on probably doing boxing first,” Eric Nicksick said of Francis Ngannou’s future during an appearance on MMA Junkie Radio. “That sounds like what he wants to do. We were talking about some different boxing trainers we might try to bring in, locations of where he might try to go, the opportunity to maybe fight (Deontay) Wilder. Anthony Joshua’s been a name.”

“I’ve heard Tyson Fury. I’ve heard Andy Ruiz. I’ve heard all these different names kind of pop up,” Nicksick explained. “But the one that sounds like the most intriguing to Francis has been definitely the Wilder fight. So we’ll see how this transpires and what’s gonna happen, but I’m just glad to have him home and back in the gym.”

Last year, Wilder returned to the winner’s enclosure following a two-fight losing skid against Tyson Fury – stopping Robert Helenius with a thunderous first round knockout in Brooklyn, New York.

Francis Ngannou’s Coach Discards Chin-Related Concerns Against Renan Ferreira Despite Anthony Joshua KO

Francis Ngannou last fought in the UFC in January 2022 and left the promotion amidst contract disputes. He’s since had two boxing matches, against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Although he lost both bouts, the fight against Fury went the distance and many backed him to be the winner. On October 19, 2024, Ngannou will […]

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On October 19, 2024, Ngannou will finally make his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira. The PFL heavyweight champ knocked out Ryan Bader to claim the title and his first defense is against the lineal heavyweight champion of mixed martial arts.

Ferreira can end the fight anytime he lands like Ngannou. Despite his fighter coming off a KO loss in boxing, Eric Nicksick is confident in “The Predator” having superior boxing and grappling…

Francis Ngannou’s Coach Admits To Wresting-Heavy Game Plan Against Ferreira But Denies Knockout Threat

Nicksick recently discussed the future of many of his fighters during an interview on the MMAFightingonSBN YouTube channel. The coach was asked if fans should be worried about Ngannou’s chin deteriorating, as he’s now 38 and last suffered a crushing KO loss against Joshua.

With 4 oz gloves that are far lighter than standard boxing gloves, Ferreira certainly boasts dangerous knockout power. However, according to Nicksick, Ngannou has an equal chance to knock his opponent out and his boxing has improved drastically in the last couple of years. “The Predator” has largely worked on his movement and knows how to roll with the punches to absorb damage.

“It turns into a coin flip, right? Like these guys touch you with 4 oz gloves, somebody’s going to sleep. Now, what we do have in our favor is I think the fact that Francis has been working a lot of his boxing, a lot of his footwork, and understanding how to roll with those punches, how to tie his counters into his defense. Just the evolution of his striking to me has gotten much more crisper, much more pristine, over the last couple years and I know that we weren’t able to show that in the Anthony Joshua fight, but, leading up to that Anthony Joshua fight, I mean, he literally, I mean, the best I’ve ever seen him, you know.”

Nicksick claimed that Ngannou’s boxing was at its best ahead of the Joshua fight. He couldn’t showcase this to the world, though, because at heavyweight, every match is a coin flip thanks to the power each fighter possesses.

After praising Ngannou’s boxing prowess, Nicksick also admitted to having a grappling-heavy plan against Ferreira. He expects over 25% of the PFL main event this weekend to be on the ground, indicating Ngannou will be ready to grapple if things go south.

READ MORE: Khalil Rountree Reveals Post-Fight Advice From Conor McGregor

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Sean Strickland Details Leaving UFC Champion Coach’s Gym Because He Was Not A ‘Leader’: ‘Don’t Think He Carries The Passion For It…’

Sean Strickland appears to have landed in the perfect gym for his training style. For starters, his heavy emphasis on sparring is helped by how many fighters are always passing through the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. He has also been able to develop a great relationship with the head coach, Eric Nicksick, who […]

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Sean Strickland appears to have landed in the perfect gym for his training style.

For starters, his heavy emphasis on sparring is helped by how many fighters are always passing through the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas.

He has also been able to develop a great relationship with the head coach, Eric Nicksick, who is able to handle Strickland’s zany energy.

Before he found his way to Xtreme Couture, the former UFC middleweight champion was training out of another top gym – but it didn’t suit him quite as well.

Sean Strickland Compares The Coaching Styles Of Eric Nicksick And John Wood

Syndicate MMA, also in Las Vegas, is another gym that has achieved a lot of success at the highest level of the sport.

Veteran coach John Wood has been in the corner of several UFC champions, including Weili Zhang and most recently, Merab Dvalishvili.

Strickland eventually decided to leave Syndicate before making his way to Xtreme Couture, for a few different reasons.

One of those reasons was his connection with Nicksick that was very different to the relationship that he had with Wood, due to their different coaching styles.

On a recent episode of Nicksick’s Verse Us podcast, Strickland explained the difference between them and why he felt more at home after making the switch,

“Let’s say John wrote an entire book on MMA and you’re like, ‘Oh that’s a good book,’ and say Eric would write a pamphlet, that pamphlet will take you farther than that book, you know what I’m saying? Because like Eric is a leader. He knows how to implement it, he knows how to push it and he knows how to do it.

“John, on the other hand, he’s more of like, I don’t think he carries the passion for it like you watch, you come to a Monday practice, Eric’s f****** involved bro. The amount of energy he brings, like he is f****** involved. You go to a Syndicate practice, it’s like, ‘Alright we’re going to do wall stuff for like five minutes’.”

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MMA Coach Breaks Down Potential Alex Pereira vs Dricus Du Plessis Fight: ‘Ji?í Is Very Similar To Dricus…’

Following the main event of UFC 305, Alex Pereira kickstarted talks of a champion vs champion clash with a post on social media. Dricus Du Plessis was able to defend his middleweight title this past weekend by submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round. Though he would appear to be facing Sean Strickland in a […]

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Following the main event of UFC 305, Alex Pereira kickstarted talks of a champion vs champion clash with a post on social media.

Dricus Du Plessis was able to defend his middleweight title this past weekend by submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round.

Though he would appear to be facing Sean Strickland in a rematch next and Pereira is booked to defend his light heavyweight crown at UFC 307, “Poatan” teased that he could move back down to 185-pounds to try and reclaim the middleweight strap.

Du Plessis has been underrated for a lot of his UFC career but being able to add Pereira to his record but would be a massive moment for “Stillknocks”.

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A post shared by Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

Eric Nicksick Says Alex Pereira’s Counter-Striking Would Be A Big Problem For Dricus Du Plessis

Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick gave his thoughts on how that potential fight could play out during a recent interview with Submission Radio.

Nicksick has spent a long time breaking down Du Plessis’ unorthodox movement, timing and technique due to him being Strickland’s head coach.

He believes that unlike Adesanya and Strickland, Pereira presents a huge problem to the middleweight champion because of his accuracy and power.

Many have highlighted in the past how Du Plessis does leave himself open to taking damage even if his aggressive style is incredibly effective.

This is where Nicksick believes that you can’t afford to leave any gaps for “Poatan” to capitalize on, using Pereira’s fights against the incredibly dangerous and unpredictable Ji?í Procházka to illustrate his point.

“So comparison wise, think about what Alex Pereira would do to a guy like Ji?í Procházka and Ji?í’s very similar to Dricus in the erratic behaviour of the way he throws his punches. I think Ji?í is more of a feel fighter where he’s not putting predisposed combinations in his head off of these types of reads, he’s just kind of throwing. Whereas Dricus is throwing these things but he’s also leaving his hands behind in certain positions right, like if he’s hitting that switch cross or switch overhand, it’s like one hand’s in the pocket, the other hand’s in the pocket when he’s throwing that looping overhand.

“That’s where I think Alex Pereira is elite. I think he sees the holes in the defense so Dricus kind of hits those a couple times and Alex catches that timing, that’s where his counter striking is so great. I think that’s where Dricus will have problems. I don’t think you can have that same type of approach as many times as he did against Izzy as he could against Alex Pereira. It’s like that using the same pickup line at the bar with the same girl over and over and over and finally she’s like, ‘Fine, here, f*** it, here’s my number’. But after a while, you’re like dude, this is not going to work but then all of a sudden it works.”

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Francis Ngannou’s Coach Lends Insight Into UFC Split

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, has given his side to what led to Ngannou’s UFC release. The MMA community was shocked when news of Ngannou’s release from the UFC broke on Saturday. It was …

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