Tag: Eric Nicksick

Sean Strickland’s Coach Names The Type Of Fighter Who Can Be Khamzat Chimaev’s ‘Kryptonite’

Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently shared his insights on a tactical approach that could be key to conquering Khamzat Chimaev in a fight. Chimaev is poised to make his highly anticipated return in a five-round middleweight showdown against Robert Whittaker, serving as the co-main event of UFC 308, scheduled for October 26 at the […]

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Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently shared his insights on a tactical approach that could be key to conquering Khamzat Chimaev in a fight.

Chimaev is poised to make his highly anticipated return in a five-round middleweight showdown against Robert Whittaker, serving as the co-main event of UFC 308, scheduled for October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Initially, both fighters were slated to headline UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia on June 22. However, just weeks before the showdown, “Borz” was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed illness. In a last-minute effort to save the main event, Ikram Aliskerov stepped up on short notice. Whittaker made quick work of Aliskerov, delivering a knockout victory in under two minutes.

The undefeated Chechen has earned a formidable reputation for his relentless and dominating fighting style. However, in the past two years, Chimaev’s momentum has been hampered by various setbacks, with illness being the primary factor behind his reduced activity.

Chimaev made his long-awaited return to the Octagon after a 13-month hiatus, squaring off against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 last October. He dominated the first round with a strong start, but the fight quickly became intense as Usman staged a spirited comeback, turning the next two rounds into a fiercely competitive contest. Despite the back-and-forth battle, Chimaev ultimately secured a majority decision victory.

Nicksick believes that if “The Reaper” can weather Chimaev’s explosive onslaught in the first two rounds, he’ll present the toughest challenge “Borz” has ever encountered in the Octagon…

Nicksick Suggests Chimaev Might Falter If Pushed To ‘Deep Waters’ in Later Rounds

During a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, Nicksick provided his analysis of the showdown between Whittaker and Chimaev. The respected MMA coach heaped praise on Whittaker, hailing him as one of the all-time greats in the middleweight division, and voiced his confidence that the former champion has the potential to deliver the toughest test Chimaev has ever faced in his career.

“I mean, it’s a great fight. You know, I think Rob has been somewhat overlooked in his last few fights, especially with the way he got beat by Dricus [Du Plessis],” Nicksick said. “Then he comes back the way he has. Robert Whittaker, I think, would have been a champion for a long time if it hadn’t been for Israel Adesanya. It’s like there’s always someone’s Kryptonite that comes into play… This is the matchup we need to see from both fighters to see how good Khamzat actually is. Would you be surprised if Khamzat blew through Robert Whittaker? No, you wouldn’t. Would you be surprised if Whittaker blew through Khamzat? No, you wouldn’t. So this is just one of those fights where you really want to see how good Khamzat truly is.”

Nicksick further noted that Chimaev has yet to face the rigorous test of a five-round bout. He highlighted that “Borz” struggled to maintain his intense pressure in previous fights against Usman and Gilbert Burns, suggesting that his cardio issues could be detrimental in a prolonged contest.

“I think the pace; I think somebody that can drag it into deep waters that we saw with Usman, that we saw in a three-rounder with Gilbert Burns, right? In a five-rounder, it’s always going to be the question mark because of Khamzat’s style of always trying to finish fights and get guys out of there right away. Can that be his Kryptonite? Is a guy who’s durable, who can last, get through rounds one and two, and then where does Khamzat fare in the deeper rounds? That is the question mark. We haven’t seen the unknown—that’s all we’re asking, and how well he does in these situations.”

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Coach claims UFC champion Francis Ngannou return against Jon Jones in March is ’50-50?

Francis Ngannou Jon Jones MarchXtreme Couture head coach, Eric Nicksick has revealed it’s currently “50-50” that a fight between his trainee, Francis Ngannou, and former UFC champion, Jon Jones occurs in March, however, claims he’ll have the Cameroon native ready to fight if a date can be found that soon. Ngannou, the current undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, has been […]

Francis Ngannou Jon Jones March

Xtreme Couture head coach, Eric Nicksick has revealed it’s currently “50-50” that a fight between his trainee, Francis Ngannou, and former UFC champion, Jon Jones occurs in March, however, claims he’ll have the Cameroon native ready to fight if a date can be found that soon.

Ngannou, the current undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, has been continually linked with a title clash against former two-time light heavyweight titleholder, Jones since unifying the titles successfully last year.

Headlining UFC 270 last January, Francis Ngannou managed to defeat then-interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane in a main event clash, utilizing wrestling and grappling to hand the Frenchman his first professional mixed martial arts defeat.

With his future in the promotion currently up in the air amid long-dragging contract disputes, Ngannou also underwent reconstructive knee surgery following his win over Gane, after suffering a knee injury just days from his UFC 270 headlining fight. 

Eric Nicksick talks the UFC return of champion, Francis Ngannou

Expected to make his return to mixed martial arts in some facet this year, the Batie native has been linked with an appearance at UFC 285 on March 4. against the returning, Jones, however, the aforenoted, Nicksick claimed the matchup was still only “50-50” at this stage in the day.

“I think it’s 50-50, to be honest with you, when you’re talking business and timeline,” Eric Nicksick said of the fight during an interview with MMA Fighting. “I’m confident from what I saw from Francis (Ngannou) a couple of weeks ago that if we had to be ready for March, I think we can get him ready, but I think it is cutting it a little bit short because he had to go back home and renew his visa.”

“And then obviously they (the UFC) still haven’t announced anything yet with his (Francis Ngannou) contract and where they’re at, so 50-50 for me,” Nicksick said. “I’m hoping for this thing, fingers crossed that we can get this deal done. If it’s not March, maybe it’s April or May, or something like that. I do know that they’re shooting for March and that Jon Jones is the opponent. Everything else is out of my hands, but if they tell me, ‘Hey, we’re fighting March 4,’ we’ll have our guy ready, that’s for sure.” 

While Jones has been linked with a fight against Francis Ngannou in his first UFC outing since 2020, the Rochester native has also been mentioned in potential fights against the likes of former division gold holders, Stipe Miocic, and the above-mentioned, Gane, as well as perennial contender, Curtis Blaydes.

Exclusive – Eric Nicksick previews Aljamain Sterling’s fight with ‘dynamic’ T.J. Dillashaw: ‘It’s a great matchup’

T.J. DillashawXtreme Couture head coach, Eric Nicksick has shared his thoughts on this month’s undisputed UFC bantamweight title fight between his student, champion Aljamain Sterling, and former titleholder, challenger, T.J. Dillashaw – praising the dynamism of the latter and crediting him for revolutionizing standup fight at the bantamweight level. Nicksick, the head coach of several leading […]

T.J. Dillashaw

Xtreme Couture head coach, Eric Nicksick has shared his thoughts on this month’s undisputed UFC bantamweight title fight between his student, champion Aljamain Sterling, and former titleholder, challenger, T.J. Dillashaw – praising the dynamism of the latter and crediting him for revolutionizing standup fight at the bantamweight level.

Nicksick, the head coach of several leading UFC fighters including undisputed heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, and the aforenoted, Sterling – along with Ray Longo and Matt Serra, will prepare the latter for his trip to Abu Dhabi, UAE later this month to tackle Dillashaw at UFC 280.

Defending bantamweight champion, Sterling, most recently co-headlined UFC 273 earlier this year against former champion, Petr Yan in the pair’s rematch – edging out the Russian with a close, split decision win in Jacksonville, Florida.

As for Dillashaw, the former two-time division kingpin headlined in his promotional return in July of last year against common-foe, Cory Sandhagen, earning a title fight with a close split judging win of his own. The outing came as T.J. Dillashaw’s first since serving a two-year retroactive suspension issued by USADA after he tested positive for the banned substance, erythropoietin (EPO). 

Commenting on the style of Dillashaw and the overall game of the Angels Camp veteran whilst breaking down Sterling’s incoming title defense, the above-mentioned, Nicksick highlighted the former’s dynamic style at bantamweight.

“It’s nice getting matched up against who I think is one of the best coaching minds in the game (Duane Ludwig),” Eric Nicksick told Mike Owens during an interview with LowKick MMA. “It’s also nice not having to stand across from him, you know what I mean.”

“All in all, I think T.J. (Dillashaw) brings a full MMA skillset from the feet to the floor, where he’s very dynamic in all areas,” Eric Nicksick explained. “I think it’s a great matchup to be quite honest with you.”

Eric Nicksick heaps praise on challenger, T.J. Dillashaw ahead of UFC 280

Credited with some of the best footwork and angle creation in the sport and the bantamweight division as a whole, T.J. Dillashaw has been praised for his part in revolutionizing that aspect of mixed martial arts by Nicksick.

“I think when you change stances a lot, your defense suffers,” Nicksick said of T.J. Dillashaw. “I think guys like to switch stances because of what offense it brings out for them, but you get into a focus of purely offense. For me as a coach, if you’re switching stances, your defense suffers – then you shouldn’t be switching stances, because you’re going to get your ass knocked out.”

“… To me, I think T.J. does really well in his stance switch because his defensive soundness remains the same out of both orthodox and southpaw,” Nicksick explained.

Eric Nicksick shuts down rumors of a December 2022 return for Francis Ngannou, targets early 2023 clash with Jon Jones

Eric NicksickFrancis Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick has provided an update on the UFC heavyweight champ’s road to recovery from the injuries sustained in the buildup to and during his fight with Ciryl Gane in early 2022. Featuring on the latest episode of What The Heck, hosted by Mike Heck, Eric Nicksick made it clear that he […]

Eric Nicksick

Francis Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick has provided an update on the UFC heavyweight champ’s road to recovery from the injuries sustained in the buildup to and during his fight with Ciryl Gane in early 2022.

Featuring on the latest episode of What The Heck, hosted by Mike Heck, Eric Nicksick made it clear that he feels a December return for the champion isn’t “a realistic timeline” based on where he is in his rehab after the surgery he had to repair a tear in his MCL as well as damage to his ACL.

The Cameroon native has been back home for the last month, but once he returns to the U.S., the UFC performance institute will re-evaluate him and provide an update on his knee, stated Eric Nicksick.

The big question on everyone’s mind, along with when we’ll see the heavyweight champ return to the octagon, is who we’ll see him against. UFC president Dana White has proposed the idea of an interim title fight with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, the winner of course would welcome Ngannou back from his injury.

Nicksick told MMA Fighting that a fight with Jones “makes the most sense” and that it’s “the fight we all want.”

A fight with the former light heavyweight champion was in the negotiation stage following Ngannou’s win over then-champion, Stipe Miocic. Talks of the two meeting in the octagon ended just as quickly as they started due to contractual issues between the UFC and Jones.

Jones hasn’t fought since February of 2020 after vacating his light heavyweight belt to make a move up to heavyweight.

Considering how big this fight will be, “what’s another 2 to 3 months?” explained Eric Nicksick later calling the potential matchup “a super fight”, a statement that not too many people can disagree with.

The timeline of Ngannou’s injury has the heavyweight division held up with Jones waiting for either an immediate title shot or a fight for an interim belt against Miocic. At the same time, a fight with top contenders Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa is happening this weekend in Paris, with the winner no doubt hoping for a shot at a UFC title.

With a win on Saturday, both Gane and Tuivasa have a solid argument to be next in line for a title shot. If Ngannou doesn’t return until January or February against Jones, not even considering the damage that could be taken during their fight, then that would leave the winner of this weekend’s bout with a long layover until their chance to fight for UFC gold.

When do you think MMA fans will see Francis Ngannou and Eric Nicksick again?

Coach: We Knew Ngannou’s Injury Was Leaked When The Odds Moved

Francis Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick has revealed what convinced him and his team that the UFC heavyweight champion’s knee injury had been leaked prior to UFC 270. At the opening pay-per-view of 2022, Ngannou overcame adversity, pressure, and the odds to secure his status as the undisputed heavyweight king. In a battle against undefeated Frenchman […]

Continue Reading Coach: We Knew Ngannou’s Injury Was Leaked When The Odds Moved at MMA News.

Francis Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick has revealed what convinced him and his team that the UFC heavyweight champion’s knee injury had been leaked prior to UFC 270.

At the opening pay-per-view of 2022, Ngannou overcame adversity, pressure, and the odds to secure his status as the undisputed heavyweight king. In a battle against undefeated Frenchman Ciryl Gane, who was widely expected to bring a new breed of technical heavyweights to the top, “The Predator” adapted and re-strategized to hunt down his prey.

After struggling to get close to Gane on the feet in the opening two rounds, Ngannou capitalized on a caught kick and took the fight to the ground. From there, he showed his improved wrestling game and maintained top control for much of the remaining minutes and, in doing so, secured a unanimous decision victory.

As if the performance wasn’t impressive enough, Ngannou revealed in his post-fight interview that he’d fought through a torn MCL and damaged ACL. While rumors of a potential knee injury appeared to have been proven true when he entered the Octagon wearing knee wraps, not many would have expected the extent of the injury to have been as serious as it was.

Nicksick Explains Why Ngannou’s Injury Was Always Going To Get Out

Despite some rumors floating around, talk of a potential injury wasn’t as prevalent as many would have expected given the nature of it. That discussion came up during a recent episode of Bruce Buffer’s It’s Time! podcast. Co-host TJ De Santis questioned how the lines, which had Ngannou as an underdog, would have looked had news of the injury broke.

Eric Nicksick, who appeared on the podcast alongside Ngannou and the champ’s manager Marquel Martin, pointed out that they knew people were aware of the damage prior to UFC 270. According to the Xtreme Couture coach, the leak was obvious once the betting lines began to shift.

“They knew, TJ,” said Nicksick. “‘Cause I said to Marquel, ’cause we’re Vegas boys, I said to Marquel, like two weeks out, I go, ‘Hey, when we start seeing these lines move, the lines start moving, we’ll know that the word is out that he’s messed up.’ There’s enough eyes, enough people around, and it’s not like, malicious; it just happens to be that way.”

Nicksick added that news of Ngannou’s hurt knee was always likely to get out, especially in Las Vegas.

“If he’s at the PI getting his knee wrapped or he has a knee brace on, if one person sees it, he’s gonna tell three or five people,” added Nicksick. “And in Vegas, we know, we’re born and raised here, so they’re looking for any way they can to move that line. I told Marquel, ‘Hey, that line’s moving, the word is out.’”

In late December, Ngannou was set as a narrow favorite by FanDuel, a line that flipped in the weeks prior to the event.

In the aftermath of 2022’s first UFC PPV, the seriousness of Ngannou’s injury was put into perspective. According to the Cameroonian, he’d been warned against fighting by a doctor due to the possibility of “irreversible damage.”

Having bet on himself and on his knee, and won, Ngannou has emerged from the other side in a strong position, both in terms of his status in the heavyweight division and in contract negotiations with the UFC.

What did you make of Francis Ngannou’s performance at UFC 270, especially given his knee injury?

Continue Reading Coach: We Knew Ngannou’s Injury Was Leaked When The Odds Moved at MMA News.

Coach: Doctor Urged Francis Ngannou To Withdraw From UFC 270 Due To Knee Injury

Francis NgannouEric Nicksick, the head coach of UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, has claimed that a doctor had urged his student to withdraw from last weekend’s UFC 270 heavyweight title unification bout with Ciryl Gane. Headlining UFC 270 on Saturday, Francis Ngannou managed to successfully unify the heavyweight championships with a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) […]

Francis Ngannou

Eric Nicksick, the head coach of UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, has claimed that a doctor had urged his student to withdraw from last weekend’s UFC 270 heavyweight title unification bout with Ciryl Gane.

Headlining UFC 270 on Saturday, Francis Ngannou managed to successfully unify the heavyweight championships with a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) victory over the undefeated interim titleholder, Gane, utilizing a surprising gameplan of grappling and wrestling.

Francis Ngannou completed his contractual obligations with the UFC with Saturday’s outing

However, prior to the fight, speculation began to mount that Francis Ngannou had suffered a knee injury in the run-up to his title unification bout. And fuel was further added to the fire when the Batie native made his Octagon walk – sporting a pair of knee braces. 

Securing a whopping four separate successful takedowns against Gane as well as attaining significant periods of top control in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, Ngannou confirmed post-fight that he had suffered a knee injury.

Speaking with UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, Ngannou confirmed that he had suffered a complete tear of his ACL and partial tear of his MCL just 25 days before his title unification clash with Gane during a training session at home base, Xtreme Couture. 

Expected to undergo a surgical procedure in order to address his right knee injury, Francis Ngannou, as per his head coach, Nicksick, was urged to withdraw from UFC 270 by a doctor during a pre-fight consultation just days before the bout.

“I was a nervous wreck,” Erick Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “I think a lot of the things that my head was telling me was to pull out of the fight, and I just didn’t like the way that the knee injury was and the situation that the opponent that we had with the particular injury that we had. Obviously, we did want to get into some wrestling, but I didn’t know how we were going to be able to wrestle without having the cardio the last three-and-a-half weeks, as well as the stability of the knee, and I’ve just got to give all the credit to Francis (Ngannou). That guy’s willpower, his mental capacity, what he wanted to do, he just unwavered (sic) the entire camp.”

“We had kind of that come-to-Jesus moment last Friday before we left,” Eric Nicksick said. “We got word from a second opinion doctor out here in L.A. that he was adamant that Francis (Ngannou) should pull out. He thought that he could ultimately lose a year-and-a-half to two years after a full knee reconstruction surgery if that leg would have gone wrong, something would have gone wrong. So we got that word last Friday. We had practice that day so we all met at the (UFC Performance Institute), and thart’s kind of when I just said (to Francis Ngannou), ‘Dude, what are we doing here? I love you, bro. You’re my brother. But as your coach, I do have to tell you what I think is right, and this is what I feel is right in this situation.” 

“But if you as the fighter say that you’re going to fight, I’m going to have your back 110 percent,” Eric Nicksick explained. “But I can’t live with myself without telling you how I truly feel., This isn’t about anything other than your safety and your legacy, in my opinion,’ So we agreed upon what we were going to do was, we were going to come to California fight week, (and) we were going to meet with the doctor out here in L.A. The moment we landed, we went right to his office and basically waited outside and he came out and I could tell by his face, I’m like, ‘Oh, we’re fighting.’ Once we knew that, I didn’t bring his knee up one. I didn’t say anything about it. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore because that, as far as I was concerned, was behind us. We’re going to fight with what we’ve got.” 

Saturday’s victory for Francis Ngannou came as his sixth consecutively, as well as his second in a championship bout following last March’s undisputed title success against two-time opponent, Stipe Miocic.