[autotag]Francisco Ngannou[/autotag] is about to make his PFL debut and after everything he’s been through outside of combat sports, the Xtreme Couture coach [autotag]Eric Nicksick[/autotag] is thrilled to have him back working towards his return to MMA.
Ngannou will make his long-awaited debut under the PFL banner on October 19 against 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira. It will be Ngannou’s first MMA fight after his last fight in the UFC, a unanimous decision in his title defense over Ciryl Gane.
“I’m happy for him, and just like we’ve talked a lot about his son’s passing, just to keep his mind busy and keep him focused on his fighting career,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “I wasn’t sure if he would fight again.
“This kind of tragedy, this kind of loss, you never know how someone is going to recover. But bringing him back into the room, bringing him back into the gym kind of reinvigorated that MMA energy again and he wanted to fight, so I’m happy for him, man. It looks like he’s in a good place now.”
“The Predator” took full advantage of the flexibility offered by the contract with the PFL: the possibility of competing in boxing. Ngannou made his professional debut in the boxing ring against champion Tyson Fury and caught many people’s attention when he scored the only knockdown in a split decision defeat. He followed up with a clash against former champion Anthony Joshua, but was submitted in the second round.
Significantly more important than his second boxing defeat was the death of his son Kobe, which occurred a month later. Ngannou admitted thoughts of retirement while struggled to process her son’s death.
Nicksick is very happy to be able to help Ngannou forget his family’s tragedy.
“I think the main focus for all of us was to get him back in the room and just try to help him heal, that was it,” Nicksick said. “If at that time, in that process he felt comfortable wanting to fight again, so be it. In fact, for us, it was more about his psyche, about getting our friend back and taking care of him.
“… We are talking about the most resilient person I have ever met. That’s just something that I think for some reason, God, fate, the universe, just puts these obstacles in front of this man, and we’ve seen what he’s capable of doing.”
It will be 1,001 days between Ngannou’s MMA fights when he makes his first walk to the Octagon in the PFL. While his recent focus has been performing in the boxing ring against world-class competition, Nicksick said Ngannou also never stopped working on his wrestling game. Therefore, he believes that Ngannou will shine in the PFL.
“I’m honored to be alongside him,” Nicksick said. “He’s my friend first and foremost. At the end of the day, I know I’m his coach, but we’re brothers in arms. I know what he’s fighting for and I know his purpose now. I’m here to help him achieve that goal .”
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This article was originally published on MMA Junkie: Eric Nicksick: Francis Ngannou ‘in a good place,’ main focus to help him ‘heal’ after son’s tragedy
