Francis Ngannou’s MMA coach, Eric Nicksick, fields questions from ESPN’s Marc Raimondi to discuss Ngannou’s boxing loss to …
Mark R mondy for ESPN joined today by the coach of the year maybe the coach of the decade Eric nixi I mean let’s talk about this uh Eric Eric you were just with Francis and ganu in Saudi Arabia of course we all know what happened there it was maybe a loss on the scorecards but not a loss in any other degree and of course we just a few weeks of removed from your fighter Sean Strickland beating Israel lisna for the UFC middleweight title it’s been a busy six seven weeks for you Eric um you’re back in in Vegas now back at extreme cure what H what has the last like six weeks been like for you I I mean it’s it’s been it’s been a whirlwind in a lot of ways but it’s also been humbling to like a degree where you know you you read all these positive things these nice things and it’s great but it’s also a reminder to you know what got you here was was your your head down and grind mentality and just keep up the hard work and you know furthermore you know every one of our Fighters that we work with they they deserve deserve the time and the same amount of effort that you’re putting in with everybody else so you know once you get back in the gym it’s right back to the grind you know with the rest of your team for sure and I want to ask you a little bit about Strickland in a few minutes but I want to start with Francis because that’s that’s kind of the big Sports Story I mean maybe even Beyond sports right what France and ganu did against Tyson Fury on Saturday in Saudi Arabia again it was a split decision loss but he knocked down Fury in the third round it was a remarkable performance I think one of the greatest performances in the history of Combat Sports in the fact that a guy who was the UFC heavyweight champion who by the way in his last fight in the UFC used wrestling to win then came out and arguably outboxed the best heavyweight boxer in the world one of the best of all time in Tyson Fury it’s a movie I mean it is really is a movie man and the first thing I want to ask you is just last week before the fight you’re in Saudi Arabia there’s a ton of luminaries there celebrities uh some of the greatest athletes in Combat Sports ever boxing an MMA what is what is that week like for you leading into the fight I mean it was cool it was the who’s who of anybody and everybody within Combat Sports who you’re rubbing elbows with at these uh big dinners and stuff and but all the while you know you still have this daunting task at hand and that’s to go fight arguably the best heavyweight to ever do it in Tyson Fury you that was always in the back of your mind and and like little little distractions were nice like to get your mind off of those things but all the while there was there was this you know this this guy waiting for you you know we had to go fight that we had you know apparently no chance to go beat or compete against so um you know you you you you allow you allow yourself a little bit of time to be distracted because I mean honestly Mark we were just you’re out there and you had nothing else to do we trained in the in the morning and then we trained at 1:00 am at night and then you’re in your hotel room and we were playing Madden hanging out so getting getting out about and seeing the city and and being around like you know it was nice to see Randy I was so pumped to have Randy Couture out there you know so um but yeah they did a magnificent job they brought out man anybody and everybody within Combat Sports was in that in that Ballroom that day it was pretty cool insane insane the the training camp I want to ask you about this um because what I found really interesting about about the coaching situation and the training camp for Francis is he kind of sucked with the people that he trusts right he really didn’t bring he didn’t bring in a lot of outside coaches obviously I know Mike Tyson was part of the camp and was there with you guys last week in Saudi Arabia but you know you you are an MMA coach correct are you not you’re not really a boxing I know that you know boxing and I know Dewey Cooper is a fantastic striking coach but for the most part it’s it was pretty much his MMA team with him in training camp for this fight right yeah he brought on uh John Mumba from from France a guy that he knew when he first got to to Paris um and again like he brought him on because he knew him he trusted him and he had a prior relationship with him that was something that we sat down in July we spoke about it was the five of us um basically the the the team that you you always see around Francis and um you know he debated on on hiring a straight boxing coach and you know I I said to him and I said to everybody in the room I think you make dwey the head coach I I trust dwey I think D’s quite capable of doing the job but also doy understood my idea on how the approach was going to be on versus Tyson Fury he I understood his approach um our game plans really meshed together and the way we wanted to attack it I think having guys that were more MMA style and MMA related um were going to be the better approach rather than just a straight boxing coach who was gonna come in and try to you know ultimately I think would would have try to make Francis outbox Tyson Fury which I didn’t think was the right idea right approach I think we wanted to stay on some of the nuances that we do really well within MMA and stay on kind of being unpredictable and that’s why we saw a lot of stance switching and different things that maybe we incorporate in MMA that most conventional boxers aren’t accustomed to it was it was is really fascinating to watch because I mean conventional wisdom right is is this is Tyson Fury he is the lineal heavyweight champion in boxing and Francis is not a boxer he has some experience training in boxing but his sport is MMA right and we’ve seen how many times have we’ve seen this in the last few years Eric where a guy from MMA whether it’s an Anderson Silva or a Nate Diaz or a Tyron Woodley you know they go and fight Jake Paul and Jake Paul is not Tyson Fury he’s a YouTuber he’s pretty he’s pretty good at boxing but he’s not the lineal heavyweight champion like Tyson Fury is so the conventional wisdom right was France is going to go in there he’s going to make a lot of money but he’s probably gonna get his butt whooped how do you how do you kind of compartmentalize and keep that you know that the attitude that a lot of people have about this fight away from him and how do you focus on just doing what you do I mean we I honest to God I I I feel like we have one of the best athletes on the planet you know we really do and you know when people were so surprised to see him out wrestle siral gone like where did that come from and I’m telling you just every time we step in the gym this guy’s a sponge and he’s learning new things and he’s trying new things out so I mean yes were we taken back by it yeah a little bit I mean you know but we we’re surprised I don’t I don’t think so because you know he’s never really ceases to amaze me with his athletic prowess and what he’s capable of doing but I’ll tell you what man the guy has has two equalizers in those hands you know when he hits you people go to sleep we always have that option available to us too it was just really to find the right delivery mechanisms to to to to the right approach and how do we want to land and how do we want to you know attack Tyson Fury and and he’s able to accomplish all those things it was it was crazy to watch it unfold it literally was I’m like oh dude we’re in this fight you know and then he drops him like oh we’re gonna beat this guy you know so it it was it was amazing to see man but uh we’re just we’re super blessed to have a guy like Francis it was your first time in a in a boxing corner second I I i’ I’ve done one before like um uh I think it’s like Texas Station it was like a small little small little thing I’ve done I’ve done a couple before in the past but yeah this one this one was I mean nothing compared to the magnitude that we had on on Saturday it was it was an unbelievable experience like it was funny because Dy and I were laughing like we didn’t know what round it was half the time like what round is this where are we at here in this fight you know and um there wasn’t a 10-second clacker like in the first couple like rounds we didn’t hear a 10-second clacker right toward the end of the round and then they weren’t telling us when when to get out of the cage like usually they blow whistle like all right second out the guy is yelling at us the the ref’s like get out like we didn’t know think no one told us so yeah it was some it was some uh you know some growing pains for sure it’s it’s a it’s a crazy story man because it’s like you guys are not really supposed to be there and not only were you there you know you went out and and he arguably beat the best the world Bad Bad News Bears bro it’s remarkable when when he when he does get the knockdown in the third round what is your what is your emotion what is Dewey saying what are you guys saying in the corner we stayed pretty calm like actually Dy and I were like hey back up so the eight count or the the count starts because the you know the ref is like pushing them off and uh you know Francis over there dancing on him and stuff and then um you know when when Francis is in the neutral corner like I looked over at him and I was like hey I like hey Bubba I was like he ain’t no boogeyman is he he’s like no he ain’t no Boogeyman so I’m like all right bro let’s go let’s get on this dude so and then um you know credit to Dey too because going into the next round Dy like got him D Dy did a great job in the corner man but he got us breathing down calmed him down and then right away we’re just telling him like Hey you know he’s probably gonna come out and and try to get that one back like his ego is gonna be hurting on this one so let let’s get back to like you know using our game plan jabbing the chest you know doing all the things that we were doing in the first couple rounds to to just kind of try to outbox him in that regard and um you know just stay stay sharp in your defense when it was all over did you get a chance to talk to Tyson or or his team like did they congratulate you guys what do they say talked to the dad I talked to John Fury he was amazing like he was so cool and uh he just said right away he’s like hey man like no disrespect you know it’s all business like bro I didn’t take any any disrespect from I I you guys are trying to sell a fight you know for the most part that’s that’s 99% of the the the banter anyways they trying to sell a fight but he was like dude you guys were did an awesome job he was well prepared you know um Sugar Hill gave us a hug and he was like dude great job you know everybody was very very very kind uh very receptive to you know the game plan and what Francis was able to accomplish um I don’t think that like I really don’t feel like Tyson Fury was like taken back by it I I think that he knew what he had um then and I think he took I think I think he took Francis very serious I don’t think he I don’t think he was you know didn’t take him lightly at all and um you know it was a great fight between the two guys in the aftermath of the fight did you feel like Francis had won um yes and no I I I knew like I was watching it from a boxing perspective and I felt like when we knocked him down I felt like Tyson kind of reverted to knowing like okay I’m gonna have to kind of outpoint this guy and out footwork him and just just box him and um I I as the rounds were going on I I can tell Francis was a little worried about his cardio but it wasn’t showing at all but but then like he was like I I just feel like he was kind of reserving a little bit of something and they we’re like dude you’re in great shape like you’re in amazing shape like let’s start pushing the pressure a little bit more um in in in eight nine and 10 and I I I feel like he did that um and I guess looking back at it I think we could have solidified our rounds a little bit better um and ended like like with a little bit more flurries and a little bit more power punching to to kind of Optics and Aesthetics and seal those rounds away or seal the rounds up if you will um but that’s that’s on us as coaches like that’s where we can get better I think that’s where Francis can get better for the future but all in all I I wasn’t like oh this is a robbery I kind of felt like I knew that they were that that the decision was going to go that way but um at the end of the day man like I I was really pulling for a guy I feel like I’ve been saying this all week like we might have lost the boxing match we definitely won the fight 100% how much involvement uh did Mike Tyson have in training camp and also over there with you guys um not not a whole lot I I I think he did like three practices total with us but um within those practices I mean you gained a lot of knowledge he he helped immensely he was you know he was like a consultant for us and uh you know he he definitely brought an energy and a vibe to the room um where you just man you were just in awe like it’s Mike Tyson you know and you sat back and and you listen to and you watched and and some of the things that he was trying to apply with Francis um I think really like stuck to him as far as like some of the approach went but you know all in all it was it was Dewey that did all the heavy lifting that camp and then uh John MBA that came in and then um you know I was like the third I was traveling all over the world half the time you know so uh but man you know hats off to Dewey Cooper man this guy busted his butt this whole camp and not only that like he had his own fighters that he was still dealing with and he was he had Bubba Jenkins in the in the pfl finals he was Corner the the bosot brothers he was flying all over the world and flying back for Francis and myself included so um yeah do did a marvelous job this whole camp for him yeah one of the uh one of the more underrated coaches I would say in MMA right do Cooper agreed so I want to ask you about I asked you a little bit about the week and about fight night aside from Franc is almost beating Tyson Fury a lot of people say he did beat Tyson Fury was there a moment that stands out whether it was like a celebrity interaction uh you know a celebrity fighter interaction anything you saw or you interacted with that you’re going to really remember outside of the fight yeah M mine was Lennox Lewis he he came up said hello shook my hand um we had a little bit of like you know I I was I I Randy Kor standing next to me dude and lenx came up said hey man huge fan love what you’re doing I I damn near started crying because like I like he was like one of my Idols when it came to boxing um and I was actually making a point to somebody before even knew Lennox was even there I was like you know I think Tyson is yes what right up there but lenx Lewis is my number one you know as far as the best heavyweights to ever do it as far as to me just pure boxer um so him him coming up and and and chopping it up with us and he actually said like next time Fran’s boxes he would love to be able to be a part of the camp and come out and help out so that was really cool man I I I just reverted back to being a kid again and thinking of all those great fights that he had and uh yeah that was that was my kind of like oh man this this is pretty cool moment was that before after the fight that was before that was during the banquet um the the night the night of the weigh-ins when we all we all met up and had that big dinner so yeah it was it was cool that’s crazy any any interesting interactions that you saw that you witnessed uh not really we were there very long um I I didn’t see Eminem but he was there um I didn’t see Conor I didn’t see the I didn’t really get a run into any of those guys but for the most part man like everybody there was you you were just bumping elbows with the who’s who of combat sport I mean it was unbelievable to see the amount of freaking legends that that were flown out there for this event it was that that part alone just you’re just sitting in a room of greatness it was pretty cool to be a part of for sure uh couple couple more things man and thank you for taking the time still want talked about Strickland but now Francis it’s like you guys Liv the movie right over the last few months in the last few years and now he has you know this boxing thing under his belt he almost beat Fury he’s in high demand Eddie Hearn is talking about him already fighting Anthony Joshua there’s talk about Deontay Wilder maybe training in MMA what is next for Francis zanu I mean the world is his you know he he’s gonna call the shots he’s on the aide of every negotiation now you know so it’s really up to him um I know in my personal talks with him and that he does want to get back to MMA I know that he wants to um get that fight with pfl again I think I think to me from my standpoint Mark I I feel like it’s the onus is kind of on pfl to make sure that they they can find him a good enough opponent um what other options are out there I don’t know uh and then the timeline I don’t know but if he’s GNA fight first quarter of of next year I mean it might even be easier just to get him another boxing match to be to be quite honest with you so we shall see man I of of course there’s so many good things that he’s doing within MMA like I would like to get back to because I feel like we’re just scratching the surface of his athletic ability um but again like it’s it’s got to make sense for him you know he’s not going to he’s not going to step over dollars a pickup dimes it’s just so crazy because now he like you said he the options are are so vast and and that’s not something that a lot of Fighters who leave the UFC can say right where you know he can he can literally go do anything I mean he can go fight Joshua he can go fight Wilder probably he can go fight somebody in in pfl the question is who would that be as you said you know who who was even available as far as heavyweights go but it’s it’s really interesting to see what what the heck is going to happen I mean it’s like it’s a it’s a it’s a he took the gamble you know and and he bet on himself and and it came up with a jackpot and not many people can say that in the history of sports no 100% And I mean I wouldn’t recommend it for everybody either you know I think he’s a rarity um he’s a different he’s a different breed man like he really is so uh you know his story is still being written but whenever they decided to do that that uh that that movie about him you know it’s it’s going to be pretty epic and I I think it’s going to be hard for a lot of people to believe you know what this guy’s been through in his life and you know I actually said that to him going into round 10 I was like bro this is your destiny man like this I’m just so grateful to be a part of it and just watching Your Excellence in in the way you’re doing these things and um it was it was just real cool man like like he he’s he’s literally just writing his movie script right now if if you had to choose would you say boxing first no I I mean honestly I don’t care either way I I just whatever he’s comfortable with whatever makes him happy to be to be fair but um you know if if you’re asking just my personal opinion of what I would love for him to do yeah I want him to fight MMA because that’s what I do and you know that’s the sport I’m involved in more than than anything but um you know if this guy’s if this guy’s gonna be generating 30 to$ 40 million his next boxing match then you know bro do that you know make make generational changing money for yourself and your families and you know everybody involved you know we’re all happy so you know whatever he decides to do man you know we’ve always had his back so and that’s the that’s the game plan I’ve heard you say in other interviews that there there still is a desire from him and and from the team to fight Jon Jones and I know that’s hard because Jon Jones is under contract with the UFC Francis is not maybe was not the uh the friendliest split between Francis and the UFC there’s no way that fight can happen or you think that still could happen some at some point down the line I mean I think it can happen you know I really do I I think I think you know anything can happen in this sport if you put your ego aside you know um I I I think that Dana and Hunter they’re they’re smart businessmen um if if they think that this is a fight to make and they think they can generate enough money to do it you know I was saying hey let’s do it at Allegiance Stadium you know let’s co-promote it let’s get these guys together you think JN is the man on the planet let’s let’s put him up let’s see what see what we got you know I think John’s the best ever do it you and I have talked about this numerous times this is no slide on John this is me just wanting to compete and and compete against the best who I think’s ever done it so um if you want to talk about who’s the baddest man on the planet we can say that back and forth to a blue in the face or we can put him in a cage and figure it out okay I did want to talk about uh your favorite student Sean Strickland of course uh by the way you have you have the big upset with Strickland over at asagna right and Sydney and then I think seven weeks later is is Francis almost beating Tyson Fury what’s what’s bigger what like for you like what what was because I know that Strickland is kind of like a personal pet project for you in a certain sense and Francis has been kind of in a way too but what what is what is bigger for you H they’re both they’re both very big you know I I guess you’d have to say Strickland because he actually won you know we didn’t get the win against Tyson so that I you know that that part does Sting just it’s sad because it’s it’s a loss on his record that’s the first loss I’ve ever had with Francis you know we we were undefeated going into this whole thing so um but yeah both of them are equally as important and and Monumental you know Monumental in the regards of you know I was in the corner with uh arguably two of the the biggest Combat Sports underdogs ever you know and and we pulled off one and damn near almost pulled off the other so that would have been pretty cool to be you know orchestrating two of the biggest upsets in in Combat Sports history did the UFC really call Strickland about fighting Hamza jayv on on short notice before uh like just a few days after maybe he he beat out aagna yeah from my from my understanding they did um that they they they just threw it out there to see if if he if he’d be available and then when when sea had asked me I was like I I kind of to be honest I was the one that kind of said no you know I was like I was like bro like I can’t be there I mean we can we can go out there but it just didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever to take as a champion to take a short notice fight against a killer when you’re you know like Sean can fight anybody on on any day’s notice we know that he’s done it before in the past but but why is it our responsibility to go put our title on the line on short notice when we already did them the solid by fighting Izzy on five and a half weeks notice you know and the guy came out of that relatively unscathed but he did have a infection in his foot and everything else so just didn’t didn’t sound right didn’t feel right just felt like a trap you know it felt like a big trap so I told him I said no I I don’t like the idea of it but you know if you want to I’m in if that’s how you feel then we you know whatever I’ll ride with you and he said no you know what bro I’m glad you said no because that was kind of my feeling too and he goes I don’t think there’s a reason for me to to push it so and that was the last I heard of it you think shmay will be next I think so I think that’s the fight to make you know I think you you make the argument between him and and and drus those are really the the only two right now because you know Izzy had said and I I talked to Izzy this past week man I actually had a blast with the guy man he was he was he was really cool and you know it was the first time I really got to hang out with him and under the circumstances I knew it was kind of awkward for him but he didn’t make it awkward at all and we had good conversation and hung out um so from my understanding he’s gonna take a little time off it wasn’t like he’s gonna take like two years off or anything like that but he’s gonna kick back and and take some time off and um so that being said I would I would imagine that the the ones that make the most sense is Hamza and or or DDP who who approached who did you approach Izzy or or vice versa oh no like I mean he was going to be in the corner so like he he he came in the room and gave me a big old hug and and you know we chopped it up and then like he I don’t know who has a video but he made he made like kind of like this funny little thing about it like like shaking my hand all Stern he’s like hi Eric how are you again good to see you buddy how was Sean you know like we’re just kind of having a joke about this situation but um man I’ve always always lik the guy I’ve always admired him I love his work um you know that unfortunate part about it is we compete against each other and somebody’s gonna lose somebody’s gonna win and I think he took it graciously and and and it was just it was just cool to hang out with him you know I kept telling him how thankful I was for him to be there for Francis I know it meant a lot lot to Francis to have him and both kamaro there um those guys taking the time and effort to travel all the way across the world to be there um thought I mean it really meant a lot of to all of us uh timetable for any idea when he might come back um no the the UFC guys texted me after the fight versus kamaro and just said hey man like looks like this is one we’re trying to make I said all right just give me give me an idea on on timeline and we said they said we’ll do and that’s all they said so they haven’t told me anything Sean’s back in the gym he’s already sparring training he’s he’s back to normal so they they can call us and say hey we want to fight January February we’re we we’ll be ready to go [Music] a