ARTICLE AD BOX
Francis Ngannou’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, has once again proven how one statement can quickly take on a completely different meaning in the MMA world and spark a lot of speculation. It all started with his comments to Home of Fight, when he stressed that his fighter “100 percent” would consider a return to the UFC for business reasons, and that there were no personal issues between him and the promotion.
That statement quickly sparked a lot of speculation about a possible return for Ngannou, fights against Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, and even questions directed at Dana White after UFC 316. Nicksick later explained that his response was more hypothetical, from the perspective of fans who want to see interesting fights.
“Francis sent me one of those clickbait headlines and said, ‘Dude, did you say that?’ I said, ‘I didn’t. What a journalistic nonsense.’ We laughed about it while we were commenting on Jones tweeting something,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting.
Ngannou has been training again at Xtreme Couture in recent weeks, but the trainer insists he has no concrete plans to return. “Francis is just in the gym training with the guys, nothing more. People think I have inside information, but I don’t know anything until they tell me I’m traveling tonight.”
Nicksick talks about the heavyweight division
Nicksick believes the heavyweight division is in a unique situation right now and needs some extra momentum.
“Francis is a business man and he knows what to do if the right opportunity arises. I don’t know the contractual details with the PFL, but there are always options,” the trainer says.
A Jones-Ngannou fight would be a spectacle for MMA fans, but it has been tried to be arranged for years without success. Nicksick sees it as one of the greatest missed matches in the history of the sport.
“It’s a clash of the greats – one of the greatest of all time against someone who is heading for the top of the heavyweight division.”
English (US) ·