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Tag: Eric Nicksick

  • Eric Nicksick’s Explanation Of What Strickland’s Camp Was Thinking During The Weigh-Ins Changes The Story

    Sean Strickland’s head coach Eric Nicksick says the team’s primary concern during the weigh-in controversy at UFC 328 was not whether Khamzat Chimaev made weight — it was the potential fine money.

    Chimaev was the last fighter to the scale ahead of Saturday’s middleweight title fight and drew scrutiny from the MMA community over what many felt was a rushed read by the commission. Strickland believed before and after his split decision win that Chimaev had not made the 185-pound limit. Reports after the fight indicated Chimaev may have been dealing with a significant weight cut after the UFC pivoted from a planned light heavyweight bout with Jiri Prochazka, which his brother claimed would have involved a 46-pound cut.

    Speaking to MMA Fighting, Nicksick addressed the weigh-in situation directly.

    “It’s not like, ‘Oh, he didn’t make the weight,’ and this and that. People forget, I don’t know what Khamzat was getting paid, that’s 20 percent or 30 percent, that’s a big fine, that money goes into Sean’s pocket. That’s all we cared about was like, ‘Yo, we want that fine money. We want that tax, baby.’ Other than that, it is what it is.”

    Nicksick confirmed Strickland would have taken the fight regardless of what the scale said.

    “We were going to fight regardless. He could have been five pounds over, Sean was going to take the fight regardless. It doesn’t matter, but that’s a good chunk of change had he been missing weight, and we would have got a little bit more money off that.”

    On the subject of what comes next, Nicksick said the team has no preference and will fight whoever the UFC calls.

    “I don’t give a shit, man. I don’t care. It’s not up to me. We’re f*cking mercenaries, man. It’s like you call, you tell us who we gotta go out and take out, that’s our job. We got to execute a game plan and go take care of business. It’s simple as that, there’s no emotion behind it. At this point as a champion, it doesn’t matter. You have to defend the belt for whoever they call, so I don’t care who it is.”

    Strickland suffered a shoulder injury on the Tuesday of fight week. Nicksick said he would ideally like to see the new champion take until September or October before returning.

    “Spend some time with your wife, invest back in your family. Anybody that’s been in this sport that has a family, they get it. They’re the ones that suffer the most. But if I had my choice, man, I would like to see him maybe wait until September, October. Just take some time off and chill.”

    Strickland will attend Saturday’s MVP MMA 1 event in Los Angeles alongside Nicksick to watch teammate Francis Ngannou compete against Philipe Lins.

  • Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 Gameplan: Eric Nicksick explains his route to victory

    Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 Gameplan: Eric Nicksick explains his route to victory

    Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick has given his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev‘s best path to victory as he prepares to challenge for the UFC middleweight championship.

    On Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev finally gets his crack at UFC gold. He’ll be going up against reigning champion Dricus du Plessis in a fight that, to put it bluntly, is going to be pretty awesome. There are so many different ways in which it can go, and for Khamzat, you’d have to imagine that his wrestling will be his best bet.

    As it turns out, Eric Nicksick also agrees that Khamzat Chimaev needs to implement his game early.

    Eric Nicksick on Khamzat Chimaev’s route to victory

    “For Chimaev it’s the wrestling, but it’s how he wrestles, the way he gets after these guys that really stands out. He’s on you straight away, suffocating you, not giving you any chance to get settled or prepare for what’s coming. He chains everything together so well, so quickly that it’s hard to react and respond. 

    “He likes to just blitz right away — get across the cage, get connected to you — and then he’s immediately looking to get you down, switching his entries, constantly making you defend. Once he gets you down, he’s flattening you out, looking for ground-and-pound or a choke. We’ve seen it in almost all of his fights — guys are just stuck on the back foot, stuck defending — and Chimaev is too strong, too good for them to be able to stop him.”

    “For Chimaev it’s get out there, get after him, and get it over with in a hurry. He’s not looking to show he can go five rounds or spend any more time in there than he has to. It needs to look like the fight with Whittaker. Shoot right away, get connected, and make him deal with everything you’re giving him, trying to get him out of there.”

  • Eric Nicksick Reveals Text From Sean Strickland ‘Immediately’ After Public Criticism

    Eric Nicksick Reveals Text From Sean Strickland ‘Immediately’ After Public Criticism

    Eric Nicksick is insisting that all is well between him and Sean Strickland despite their recent disagreement.

    Last month at UFC 312, Strickland suffered a one-sided unanimous decision loss in his rematch against reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.

    Following the defeat, his head coach, Nicksick, didn’t hold back, openly voicing his disappointment over the outspoken Californian’s seemingly uncompetitive performance and casting doubt on his fighter’s drive moving forward.

    Reacting to the comments, “Tarzan” revealed that while they will remain friends, the Xtreme Couture coach will no longer be in his corner from now on. This revelation sparked speculation within the MMA community about a possible rift between the longtime fighter-coach duo.

    However, Nicksick maintains that any tension with Strickland, if it ever existed, has now been put to rest.

    During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Nicksick admitted that while he doesn’t completely second-guess his comments about Strickland, he wishes he had waited longer before speaking out. He emphasized that his words came from a place of genuine care.

    “The timing was wrong on my part, and the wording wasn’t as crystal clear as what I should have gotten out,” Nicksick said. “Everyone in the gym that knows me, Sean included, knew where my heart was and knew where my head was and the point that I was trying to get across.”

    Nicksick further shared that after his remarks gained traction, Sean Strickland reached out via text and later met with him in person, ultimately acknowledging the criticism.

    “Sean said that to me immediately via text. He was like, ‘Hey man, I know exactly what you mean.’ I saw him in person that same Thursday. We hugged, high-fived. ‘I’m going out snowboarding.’ We had a good conversation,” Nicksick continued. “So as far as I’m concerned, everything’s good on our end.”

    Following his recent setback, “Tarzan” now holds a 4-4 record in his last eight Octagon outings. This stretch includes the pinnacle of his career — dethroning Israel Adesanya to claim the 185-pound title at UFC 293 — only to have his reign cut short by Du Plessis at UFC 297.

  • Eric Nicksick Addresses Backlash To Public Criticism Of Sean Strickland After UFC 312: ‘I Made A Mistake…’

    Eric Nicksick Addresses Backlash To Public Criticism Of Sean Strickland After UFC 312: ‘I Made A Mistake…’

    Coach Eric Nicksick has spoken out regarding the reaction to how he responded to Sean Strickland’s failed attempt at reclaiming the UFC middleweight title earlier this month.

    The Xtreme Couture trainer was Down Under in Sydney, Australia earlier this month to corner Strickland at UFC 312. The former champion headlined in competition for Dricus Du Plessis’ gold.

    While the South African had narrowly fallen on the right side of a split decision in their first fight, the rematch was far more convincing, with “Stillknocks” cruising to a lopsided decision victory across five rounds.

    Strickland received plenty of flak for his performance, not least from his head coach. Nicksick gave a brutal assessment of his pupil, branding his attempt at winning back the middleweight belt “uninspiring” and questioning his motivation.

    The 33-year-old evidently didn’t take too kindly to the public review, expressing plans to switch up his corner team moving forward while addressing the criticism in a social media video.

    A number of other prominent names in the MMA space, from Daniel Cormier to Matt Brown, have also spoken out against Nicksick’s decision to publicly slate his fighter. And in the comments section of an MMA Fighting Instagram post showing “The Immortal’s” remarks on it, Strickland’s coach admitted to making an error.

    Eric Nicksick

    “@iamtheimmortal I agree, Matt, looking back at it I made a mistake,” Nicksick admitted. “My true intentions were to try and motivate him publicly, and that was a miscalculation on my part.”

    It remains to be seen whether Strickland will push through with his plans to utilize new personnel for his next corner in spite of Nicksick acknowledging his mistake.

  • Sean Strickland Ousts Eric Nicksick From His Corner Team After Public Criticism Of UFC 312 Performance

    Sean Strickland Ousts Eric Nicksick From His Corner Team After Public Criticism Of UFC 312 Performance

    While former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland doesn’t appear to have any animosity toward his “friend” Eric Nicksick, he seemingly isn’t expecting the renowned coach to lead his corner next time out.

    After sharing a special night in Sydney back in 2023 courtesy of a memorable upset win over Israel Adesanya, Strickland and Nicksick were back Down Under last week challenging the reign of Dricus Du Plessis.

    They narrowly failed to crack the South African’s puzzle 13 months ago in Canada, and the polarizing American was even further from having his hand raised second time around.

    In the main event of UFC 312 on Saturday, Strickland fell to a lopsided decision defeat after a disappointing display across five rounds that has garnered him plenty of flak from the MMA community. And perhaps the most vocally critical this week was the Xtreme Couture standout’s head coach and cornerman.

    During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Nicksick didn’t hold back in his assessment of Strickland’s performance, branding it “uninspiring.” Many have eagerly anticipated the ex-champ’s reaction to those remarks, and he provided them a day later in a video posted on X.

    In addition to outlining his plan to utilize different individuals in his corner moving forward, Strickland highlighted some of the adversity he had to overcome during fight camp for UFC 312.

    “Alright, you guys keep tagging me about this whole Eric thing,” Strickland began. “I like Eric; he’s a friend of mine, and he’s going to continue to be a friend of mine. Will he be in my corner? Probably not. We have so many great guys at Xtreme…we have so many savages who I would love to corner me. … That entire (UFC 312) fight camp was just a struggle. Guys, we all have exuses as to why we didn’t win…and they don’t f*cking matter.

    “The only reason why I’m making this video is because Eric had to go do a f*cking podcast and become an influencer, so now I’ve got to kind of explain myself. Opportunity never comes when it’s supposed to. … You must say yes. This is not an excuse, but that entire camp was just a struggle of, ‘I’m good, I’m good,’ knowing I’m not good,” Strickland continued. “Whether it be the staph infection, the broken arm, having to get a visa that didn’t get approved until a week (before), not being able to get cornerman out there; this entire camp was a struggle of, ‘I’m not good,’ but me looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Sack up!’”

    The 33-year-old also touched on Nicksick’s questioning of his motivation when it comes to a continued career in fighting.

    While the renowned trainer stated in no uncertain terms that he’s only interested in coaching those who aspire to be a world champion, Strickland enters the Octagon for a different reason.

    “You guys, I don’t fight to put belts on the wall. I don’t fight because Eric wants to go do a fancy podcast,” Strickland stated. “Before fighting, you guys, I had the lowest self-esteem. I couldn’t even look at myself in the f*cking mirror. Through fighting, I’ve learned so much, met so many amazing people. … You guys have changed my f*cking life. You’ve made me grow so much as a person, in the ring and out of the ring. That’s why I fight.”

  • Coach Eric Nicksick Gives Brutal Assessment Of Sean Strickland After UFC 312: ‘To Show Up And Do That…Uninspiring’

    Coach Eric Nicksick Gives Brutal Assessment Of Sean Strickland After UFC 312: ‘To Show Up And Do That…Uninspiring’

    Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has been receiving plenty of flak for his defeat this past weekend, and it’s clear that even his own team is under no illusion about their man’s underperformance.

    Strickland vowed to put on a war in pursuit of redemption against Dricus Du Plessis — the man who took the 185-pound gold from him early last year — in the UFC 312 main event on Feb. 8.

    But in his return to the site where he shockingly dethroned Israel Adesanya in 2023, the polarizing American was unable to repeat the feat. Instead, the South African once again got the better of him on the scorecards, this time much more definitively.

    The defeated challenger has been criticized for not letting his hands go and putting any sort of pressure on the champ throughout the five-round contest. And perhaps the most brutally honest take to date has come from the lips of his head coach.

    During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Nicksick described his frustrations as he watched Strickland’s lackluster display from the corner inside Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

    “I think (Strickland) needs to evaluate what he wants to do in the sport,” Nicksick said. “If it’s just to make money, then that’s great. Let us know. I wanna coach world champions. My motivations are different. Just to kind of show up and do that and not really back it up, to me, was just kind of uninspiring.

    “It was just uninspired fighting to me. It just seemed like (Strickland) was sleepwalking. It was tough, man,” Nicksick continued. “To travel all the way (to Australia) — and let’s not forget, this is a title fight…I take these title fights very seriously. I was just disappointed, man.”

    It remains to be seen how Strickland will react to Nicksick’s stance, and what kind of conversations the two have had behind closed doors in the aftermath of Saturday’s pay-per-view event Down Under.

  • Eric Nicksick Slams ‘Egomaniac’ Ref Who Stopped Chris Curtis Fight: ‘That Was Some B*tch Sh*t!’ 

    Eric Nicksick Slams ‘Egomaniac’ Ref Who Stopped Chris Curtis Fight: ‘That Was Some B*tch Sh*t!’ 

    Eric Nicksick was not happy with a call that was made in relation to one of his fighters at the first UFC event of the year. This past weekend at the Apex, Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis earned the first fight of the night bonus of 2025 for their middleweight clash.

    In the final seconds of the back-and-forth battle, Kopylov took Curtis off his feet with a head kick which referee Mark Smith deemed was the end of the fight. He stepped into wave the fight off with just one second left on the clock and his decision was instantly scrutinized by both Curtis and his Xtreme Couture corner.

    Whilst his opponent believes that it was the right call to make, the argument in favor of Curtis is that with the final bell about to sound and his opponent backing off rather than pursuing his opponent, “The Action Man” was in no sense of danger whatsoever. On a recent episode of his Verse Us podcast, Nicksick spoke about how he was frustrated with the referee long before the stoppage for not punishing several fouls which slowed the fight down.

    ”That’s what I’m pissed off about. You never get three timeouts in a f—king fight. So, number one, he spit his mouthpiece out. That wasn’t too bad. All right. Groin strike… Then the eye poke, and I calmly said to Mark, ‘Hey, that is two infractions in a row in this round. Where’s the point?”

    Nicksick went on to talk specifically about the stoppage and goes further than that by talking about Smith’s personality and his issues with the prominent official.

    ”You [Smith] decided to stop the fight with one second left… Let the motherfu*ker go out on his shield bro. That was some b*tch sh*t, you didn’t have to stop the fight on that moment… He fraternizes with other gyms, teams, fighters, coaches and everything else… I think he’s an egomaniac. I mean, I’ve never heard a ref ask people to vote for him for the ‘MMA Ref of the Year.” 

    Nicksick also posted the following statement on Instagram, addressing his reaction to the stoppage and apologizing for his actions.

  • Top MMA Coach Picks Joaquin Buckley As ‘Fighter Of The Year’ Over Alex Pereira & Ilia Topuria

    Top MMA Coach Picks Joaquin Buckley As ‘Fighter Of The Year’ Over Alex Pereira & Ilia Topuria

    Coach Eric Nicksick, for one, has been extremely impressed by UFC welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley’s efforts in 2024.

    Buckley closed out his year in style on Saturday night when he headlined the final event of 2024. Opposite him inside Tampa’s Amalie Arena was former interim champion Colby Covington, who planned on placing his name back into title contention a year on from a third failed bid for undisputed status.

    “Chaos” didn’t succeed in that ambition, however, with Buckley dominating him in the opening two rounds before a deep cut sustained just above Covington’s right eye proved too bad for him to continue.

    With the result, “New Mansa” has gone 4-0 this year, having previously knocked out Vicente Luque, outpointed Nursulton Ruziboev, and stopped Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

    And according to Nicksick, that’s elevated him not only into the “Fighter of the Year” discussion, but above both consensus leading candidates Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria.

    “Real talk, @Newmansa94 (Buckley) resurrection needs to be studied,” Nicksick wrote on X. “6-0 in a new division w/ 4 stoppages, 4-0 in 2024. Ladies and Gentlemen, he’s your 2024 Fighter of the Year. I’m out”

    Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight kingpin, has staked his claim with three title defenses in 2024. After knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiří Procházka, “Poatan” most recently came from behind to batter Khalil Rountree in round four of their headline battle this past October.

    Topuria, meanwhile, seemingly has the edge over the Brazilian in terms of competition level. Though he’s fought once less than Pereira, the Spaniard dethroned the highly regarded Alexander Volkanovski in brutal fashion before becoming the first man to knock out Max Holloway to retain the featherweight gold.

    But taking into account his career revival since dropping to 170 pounds, Buckley appears to have the vote of one renowned trainer in the fight game.

  • Sean Strickland’s Coach Explains Picking Dricus Du Plessis As ‘Toughest Challenge’ Over Khamzat Chimaev

    Sean Strickland’s Coach Explains Picking Dricus Du Plessis As ‘Toughest Challenge’ Over Khamzat Chimaev

    Sean Strickland is set to challenge for the UFC middleweight title for the second time in his upcoming rematch with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312. The former champion stuck to the idea that he would wait for his shot at “Stillknocks” following his win over Paulo Costa in June and it paid off for him with the fight being announced this past weekend at UFC 310.

    For his head coach at Xtreme Couture, Eric Nicksick, the next few months will be all about looking at what they need to do differently in order to defeat Du Plessis in Sydney, Australia. Their first meeting at UFC 297 came down to a close split decision that saw the South African become the 185-pound champion.

    For several weeks following his submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, it looked like the promotion might be heading towards Khamzat Chimaev as the next title challenger for Du Plessis. Though they aren’t thinking about it right now, both teams will know that if they come out on top in February, Chimaev will likely be their next opponent.

    Nicksick spoke in a recent interview with Submission Radio about which opponent is a bigger threat to Strickland out of the current champion and the other top contender in the division. He explained why in his opinion, as of right now, Du Plessis is their biggest challenge.

    “I mean, you would have to say [Dricus du Plessis] because he won, he beat us. Right now you have to say that [he’s the tougher matchup] because that’s the task at hand. I think Khamzat presents tons of different variables to his style that we’re gonna have to look at how to break down once that challenge presents itself. But right now, DDP is the toughest challenge for us.”

  • Ngannou’s Coach Highlights Jon Jones & Stipe Miocic’s Best Attributes Ahead Of UFC 309

    Ngannou’s Coach Highlights Jon Jones & Stipe Miocic’s Best Attributes Ahead Of UFC 309

    Both Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are not the kind of fighters that have too many questions surrounding their fighting styles and key attributes. There may be questions ahead of UFC 309 this weekend regarding how Jones looks at heavyweight and whether Miocic will be able to roll back the years but we know a lot of the other variables.

    In a recent piece for UFC.com, E. Spencer Kyte sat down with Eric Nicksick, who knows a thing about heavyweight title fights as the coach of Francis Ngannou, to break down this Saturday’s headline bout at Madison Square Garden. Starting with “Bones”, the Xtreme Couture head coach gave his opinion on what the consensus greatest of all time does better than the rest.

    “For Jon, obviously, I think it’s his Fight IQ — that’s definitely gonna be No. 1, but the way that he’s able to apply different arts to the game plan; I think that’s what makes him the most intriguing fighter ever. He can beat you in any facet of the game and do it very, very well. He has an ego about him too, where if you watch the Cormier fight, ‘Oh, you’re the best wrestler? Okay, I’ll take your a** down. Gustafsson, you’re the best striker? I’m gonna out-strike you.’ There is an edge and an aura to him where he likes to beat his opponent at their best attribute, and that’s what makes him freakin’ amazing.”

    Nicksick continued, adding what side of Jones’ game he believes will be the most important for this fight in particular.

    “I think the attribute for him is his length — keeping this fight long and at a pace that favors him. I think he’s the ultimate puppet master in the way that he fights — he gets you into his style of fight, he controls that pace, and that’s where I think a lot of guys have problems with him because they get snake-charmed.”

    Ngannou’s coach also highlighted Jones’ offense which has seen him showcase a wide array of weapons, many of which have become adopted by other fighters.

    “It’s in his creativity too that you see how good he is because you don’t get to train a lot of that. You don’t get to prepare for a spinning back elbow off a right cross. That’s natural instinct like Saquon Barkley jumping over a guy; you look at it and go, ‘That’s the level of creativity in his mind that he’s doing that,’ and you can’t train for that, you can’t prepare for that.”

    Nicksick then turned his attention to the challenger in this Saturday’s main event. Having trained Ngannou to fight the former two-time heavyweight champion twice before, analyzing Miocic’s game is something that he has plenty of experience doing already.

    “His best traits are his boxing, his toughness, his durability and his heart, all those things, but as someone that had to game-plan for the guy — when you and I were talking about this fight last week, I was looking at some stuff, and it brought back an anxiety like I was going back and preparing for Stipe again. If you look at the trilogy with Cormier, Stipe looked better in every fight and got better in every fight. He was winning the first fight until he wasn’t, he was losing the second fight until he wasn’t, and then the third fight was a complete wash, but in that third fight, I saw so many different technical evolutions from him in that time.”

    Nicksick believes that based on Miocic’s ability to adapt in the past, we could see even more developments in his game after he’s spent over three years outside of the Octagon.

    “A lot of switch stances, a lot of lateral movement, a lot of shake steps — things that I think are more predicated to lighter weight fighters, and he was implementing these things and very much confused Cormier. So I also think it’s his evolution, and that’s a big question: how has he evolved these last three years? What has he been doing? I have to assume that he’s only gotten better. With the type of personality and champion that he is, (I have to assume) that he’s been working, doing new things.”

  • Francis Ngannou’s Coach Breaks Down How He Would Game Plan For Jon Jones

    Francis Ngannou’s Coach Breaks Down How He Would Game Plan For Jon Jones

    Unfortunately, it looks like the biggest fight in the heavyweight division across MMA may never happen. The prospect of seeing Jon Jones move up to heavyweight to face Francis Ngannou was one of the most talked about fights that we didn’t get to see when both men were in the UFC.

    Unfortunately, Jones debuting in his new weight class saw him win the vacant title that was left behind when Ngannou departed the promotion and signed to the PFL. Though this super fight between champions is something that the PFL is very keen on, it seems incredibly unlikely that a deal will ever take place between the two promotions.

    It’s still going to be used as a talking point for fans for many years to come and in a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Ngannou’s coach spoke about how he would have tried to approach the fight if it had happened inside the Octagon. Eric Nicksick broke down where he believes they would have had success in the fight.

    Like many would assume, competing against the consensus greatest of all time in a technical back-and-forth would not have been the desired strategy for the Xtreme Couture head coach.

    “I definitely think you had to put Jon on his back foot, you had to put pressure on him, you had to put him up against the corner post and you couldn’t get in a technical fight with Jon and you couldn’t allow him to dictate the hand play right, where he starts to occupy your hands and that’s a slow paced type of fight where Jon is very technical there and he starts to pick you apart with elbows and the clinch and the knees and the things that he does so well.

    “For me, I thought we got to get this guy on his back foot and we got to apply pressure right away and make it an ugly fight, don’t make it a technical fight. You’re going to have to make this grimy and try to get out of there, try to get him out of there in the first two-three rounds. I think the longer a fight would have gone between him and Francis, it would have favored more Jon and that was where I felt like if we put a game plan on him, we were going to have to put the pace on him.”

  • Francis Ngannou’s Coach Details How Renan Ferreira ‘F*cked Up’ Before PFL Fight

    Francis Ngannou’s Coach Details How Renan Ferreira ‘F*cked Up’ Before PFL Fight

    The coach of newly crowned PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou believes Renan Ferreira made a critical error in the lead-up to their clash this past weekend.

    Ngannou made an emphatic return to mixed martial arts on October 19, having not competed inside a cage since a successful UFC title defense back in January 2022.

    After injury, a contract dispute and UFC exit, and venture into the boxing ring kept him away for close to two years, “The Predator” showed that he hasn’t lost a step by brutally ground-and-pounding Ferreira en route to a first-round TKO in his PFL debut.

    During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, coach Eric Nicksick reflected on his man’s performance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    The Xtreme Couture trainer spoke about the mindset Ngannou entered the cage with, explaining how it became more dangerous after Ferreira’s antics during their faceoff at the ceremonial weigh-ins the previous night.

    “I just felt like there was a certain way about Francis, and especially after the faceoff,” Nicksick said. “I felt like Renan f*cked up by head-butting him and getting in his face, because it really took Francis to a different place. It really did. I’ve never really seen Francis, not necessarily mad, but it lit a fire under his ass in a different way.

    “I’m thankful for Renan doing that, you know?” Nicksick continued. “When he did that, I looked over at Dewey (Cooper) and was like, ‘Yeah, dude. This is perfect. Thanks.’”

    While the pair were hyped up when they went forehead to forehead on stage, they have showed nothing but respect for one another in the aftermath of their main event at the PFL’s Battle of the Giants pay-per-view.

    “The Predator” recently praised “Problema” in a social media post, branding him an “incredible competitor.” The Brazilian entered the contest off the back of a title-winning PFL campaign in 2023 and rapid knockout of Bellator kingpin Ryan Bader this past February.

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

    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 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.

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

    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 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.

  • Inside UFC 303: Coach’s Perspective On Dan Ige’s Pivotal Fight

    Inside UFC 303: Coach’s Perspective On Dan Ige’s Pivotal Fight

    On June 30, Eric Nicksick knew that he would be heading to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas but he didn’t realize that Dan Ige would be coming with him.

    UFC 303 produced one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the promotion as Ige agreed to step in and face Diego Lopes in the co-main event all within the space of a few hours.

    After receiving the call from his fighter, Nicksick (who was already cornering on the card), immediately got to work in order to make this happen.

    He picked up his fighter’s cup from Xtreme Couture and under Ige’s instructions, assembled a corner on short notice.

    Nicksick quickly arranged to meet with both Kai Kamaka III and Sean Strickland who he knew were in Vegas, breaking up the former middleweight champion’s lunch date with his girlfriend.

    All of these details and more recently came out when he gave his side to this incredible story.

    Eric Nicksick Says Dan Ige Is Always Looking And Staying Ready For Opportunities Like This

    During his appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, Nicksick detailed what the crazy turnaround of UFC 303 looked like from his perspective.

    He also revealed that taking fights on short notice to try and save the card is something that Ige regularly has his eye on in case something exactly like this happens.

    With him being in shape and training out of Las Vegas, he was the perfect fighter to step in for Brian Ortega who withdrew due to illness.

    “Here’s the thing about Dan. Every card, he’ll look at the landscape of the division or the card, for example, and be like, ‘hey this dude at 55, there’s these two fights at 45, whatever. Take a peek at it, let me know if something comes up short notice, I’m always down to take these types of fights, especially if the juice is worth the squeeze’ and in this particular situation, it was and he jumped on it man.”

    Nicksick also said that though they didn’t get the win, he’s glad that Ige was able to pull this off because it shows what’s possible if you’re prepared.

    He went from any old Saturday to fighting in the co-main event of International Fight Week all because he was ready to stick his hand up when the UFC called and said they needed a guy.

    “That’s what makes me the most proud about the situation is that anytime there’s an opportunity like that, our team can pick up the phone and answer the call. Chris Curtis, Sean Strickland, Roman Dolidze, Dan Ige, you know, and I think it sets a precedence amongst the rest of the team to know what is possible if you’re f****** prepared and you’re ready to go and you’re doing all the right things day in and day out, even if you’re outside of camp. Those opportunities come once in a lifetime and are you willing to open the door when that door knocks.”        

    Read also: MMA Analyst Dismisses Ilia Topuria’s Champ-Champ Aspirations

  • 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 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 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’.”

    Read also: Sean O’Malley’s Coach Reveals UFC Rules He Would Change: ‘Aljo Does It…’

  • Francis Ngannou’s Coach Details Tom Aspinall Collaboration In Preparation For Renan Ferreira Fight

    Francis Ngannou’s Coach Details Tom Aspinall Collaboration In Preparation For Renan Ferreira Fight

    To prepare for his long awaited MMA return, Francis Ngannou is doing his training camp out in Paris before October 19.

    Any heavyweight in the sport will tell you that one of the biggest problems that they encounter is finding suitable training partners to work with.

    This is even more true when you’re preparing to fight a 6’8″ opponent in Renan Ferreira.

    Team Ngannou’s problem could have been temporarily solved this week thanks to the UFC arriving in Paris for Saturday night’s event at the Accor Arena.

    Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick, has built a strong relationship with another of the world’s best heavyweights – whom he was hoping to cross paths with in the French capital.

    Eric Nicksick Says He Would’ve Loved To Connect Ngannou & Aspinall

    In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Nicksick said that he hoped to connect Ngannou with the interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall this week.

    Unfortunately, Aspinall wasn’t making the trip over for the fights on Saturday but the Xtreme Couture coach still thinks it could happen at some stage.

    With both men being right at the top of their weight class in different promotions, the sparring videos alone would be PPV-worthy.

    He said that the short distance between England and France means that Aspinall may be able to join their camp before they leave for Saudi Arabia.

    Nicksick did say that though the Brit isn’t in town, he did offer to help out in a different way, by giving them a list of names who may be of use as sparring partners to mimic Ferreira.

    “I was hoping that he’d [Aspinall] be out here and we’d get some training in and not saying it won’t happen, maybe it can before we get out of here because he’s like an hour flight away. He’s not too far away but he was gracious enough to send me some names of his training partners and guys that we could use and try to bring out here to help out Francis but he was all about it man and Tom’s been a great friend and a great guy to have in the circle.”

    Read also: Ciryl Gane’s Absence From UFC Fight Night Card In Paris Explained

  • Sean Strickland’s Coach Points Out Weakness In Dricus Du Plessis Ahead Of Potential Rematch: ‘If The Wrestling Does Happen…’

    Sean Strickland’s Coach Points Out Weakness In Dricus Du Plessis Ahead Of Potential Rematch: ‘If The Wrestling Does Happen…’

    Sean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick has already spoken about how a rematch with Dricus Du Plessis won’t need big changes from them.

    Their first encounter at UFC 297 where Du Plessis came away with a split decision to become the middleweight champion, was a closely contested affair over five rounds.

    Making small adjustments before running it back will be key because, as we saw in the first fight, there isn’t much to separate these two.

    The fight was predominantly a striking exchange between them but the occasional takedown attempts from Du Plessis opened up some moments that they could capitalize on in the rematch, in Nicksick’s opinion.

    Eric Nicksick Says Sean Strickland Can Use Transitional Grappling Against Dricus Du Plessis

    Nicksick knows better than to expect his fighter to go out there in a title fight and start shooting for takedowns.

    Strickland’s style is very set in its ways and we saw that when he faced elite strikers in Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya, and didn’t once try to take the fight to the ground.

    Where Nicksick feels they can have success after watching the first fight play out is in the transitions after Du Plessis attempts takedowns.

    The Xtreme Couture head coach was able to take lessons from UFC 297 and the time he cornered Brad Tavares against “Stillknocks”, to find this one area.

    “The one thing I will bring up that I feel like Sean doesn’t give himself enough credit for – so when Dricus took Sean down, there was some transitional grappling, things that I want to see Sean implement a little bit more. Sean never was really held down, we were never like taken down and laid on our back but there, Sean’s really good at hitting the switch and Sean’s really good at counterbalancing and taking the back to where I think Sean could implement a little ground and pound and top pressure himself.

    “Anecdotally looking back at what Brad did, when Brad fought Dricus, Brad got on top and Brad rode Dricus all the first round so I think Dricus is a very good topside grappler, I don’t think he’s that great off his back so I’m not saying we need to go and initiate the wrestling but if the wrestling does happen, I think Sean can reverse those positions and get on top and create some havoc up there.”

    Read also: Jared Cannonier Dismisses Caio Borralho’s Grappling Superiority Ahead Of UFC Fight Night Main Event: ‘I Fought Glover Teixeira!’

  • Francis Ngannou’s Coach On UFC Deleting His Legacy: ‘It Takes Somebody Of Izzy’s Stature…’

    Francis Ngannou’s Coach On UFC Deleting His Legacy: ‘It Takes Somebody Of Izzy’s Stature…’

    Francis Ngannou is set to really begin the next chapter of his MMA career when he makes his long-awaited PFL debut against Renan Ferreira on October 19.

    Despite parting ways with the UFC in January of 2023, the former UFC heavyweight champion has been competing in boxing before taking some time off after tragically losing his son earlier this year.

    In the meantime, his former home has done a few things that rubbed both Ngannou and his supporters the wrong way by not acknowledging what he achieved in the promotion.

    One particular stat shown in August of last year listed Tafon Nchukwi as the first Cameroonian fighter to ever compete in the UFC, which was quickly corrected by Ngannou on social media.

    Not only had they erased Ngannou on this occasion, they had also jumped past Thierry Sokoudjou who “The Predator” gave props to.

    Eric Nicksick Says He Doesn’t Understand UFC’s Stance On Francis Ngannou

    This lack of acknowledgment for Ngannou was brought up once again by Israel Adesanya during his media day interviews ahead of UFC 305.

    Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick spoke about the impact that actions like this from “The Last Stylebender” have during a recent interview with Submission Radio.

    He gave his opinion on Ngannou not being celebrated for his time in the UFC, stating that he can’t understand this way of handling the situation even if it did end on less than stellar terms.

    “It just doesn’t make any sense. I think it’s like if you had this break-up but you still learn something or you still gained something from that relationship and I think it takes somebody of Izzy’s stature and nobility of like he cares so much about Francis that he has a platform and he speaks up about it. Good on Izzy for seeing these injustices and speaking up on it. It’s just silly. It just actually, I think it brings more light and more negative connotation to the situation.

    “Had they just been like, ‘Oh hey man, you know, he was a great champion for us while he was here.’ You don’t have to promote the guy but when you’re doing a stat that said the first Cameroonian fighter in UFC history, like wait a minute, you had a couple guys that were in there. It is what it is man, it’s their promotion, it’s their business what they decide to do. I just would never really understand the purpose or reason why behind it.”

    Read also: Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’

  • MMA Coach Breaks Down Potential Alex Pereira vs. Dricus Du Plessis Fight: ‘Jiří Is Very Similar To Dricus…’

    MMA Coach Breaks Down Potential Alex Pereira vs. Dricus Du Plessis Fight: ‘Jiří 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 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”.

    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 Jiří Procházka to illustrate his point.

    “So comparison wise, think about what Alex Pereira would do to a guy like Jiří Procházka and Jiří’s very similar to Dricus in the erratic behaviour of the way he throws his punches. I think Jiří 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.”

    Read also: Tom Aspinall Has High Praise For Dricus Du Plessis After UFC 305: ‘One Of The Smartest Fighters In The UFC’ 

  • Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

    Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

    The next middleweight title fight would appear to be a rematch of what fight fans saw take place over five rounds in the main event of UFC 297.

    Dricus Du Plessis won a split decision on that night in January to take the belt from Sean Strickland, following a back-and-forth encounter.

    After Strickland was able to bounce back with a win over Paulo Costa and Du Plessis defended the title against Israel Adesanya this past weekend, a rematch is on the cards.

    Given how close it was the first time around, there likely isn’t going to be a big change made by either man that will drastically change the way this one plays out – and that’s how Strickland’s head coach sees it.

    Eric Nicksick Says He Expects A Similar Fight With Small ‘Chess Match’ Adjustments

    In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Eric Nicksick spoke about his expectations for preparing Strickland to face Du Plessis for a second time.

    He spoke about how the key to this fight will be focusing on small adjustments because they wouldn’t need to do much different to have won the first encounter.

    “There are some things and I’ve said them publicly in the past but there are definitely some things that we went away from that would have helped negate that forward pressure and I still firmly believe had we stayed on those things, we would have won that fight and he didn’t do those things, Sean did not do those things. So, we need to get back to some small little changes.

    “There’s some things on the ground that I think we can accomplish as well that I would like to revisit with Sean and yeah. I mean it wasn’t this crazy, crazy, ‘Oh dude, we got our a** kicked’. There was just some small little things but now the fun part is the chess match. What are they going to do to go back and make those adjustments and what are they going to expect us to make our adjustments on, and then there’s that little game of chess now. That’ll be the fun part.”

    Nicksick also believes that this first fight is going to look very similar to the UFC 297 headliner because of the styles and toughness of both men.

    He can’t see a way that it doesn’t end up being a test of both men’s wills when the going gets tough.

    “You would love to say, ‘Oh, we’re gonna go in there and smoke this dude’ but Dricus, he’ll look awful and then he comes back and does his thing so you got to expect a knockdown drag out fight. 2-2 going into round five, hey we’re down to the last five minutes, we’re going to have to dig deep and figure out a way to get this fight, that’s how we have to train, that’s how we have to expect it. It’s going to be to the death.”

    Read also: Tom Aspinall Has High Praise For Dricus Du Plessis After UFC 305: ‘One Of The Smartest Fighters In The UFC’ 

  • Eric Nicksick On Khabib Nurmagomedov Being Unhappy With Belal Muhammad During Training: ‘Punking Belal In Front Of Everybody…’

    Eric Nicksick On Khabib Nurmagomedov Being Unhappy With Belal Muhammad During Training: ‘Punking Belal In Front Of Everybody…’

    Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick may be regarded as one of the best coaches in the sport but that doesn’t mean he’s not able to learn things from others in the same field.

    Since making the decision to retire on top of the sport, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has seamlessly transitioned into a coaching role.

    Not only has he achieved a lot of success in the corner of other fighters, athletes will often share stories of how far coach Khabib will push people in training.

    He appears to have taken up a similar coaching style to that of his late father, and if it worked for Abdulmanap, why fix what isn’t broken.

    Eric Nicksick Recalls Key Lessons He Was Able To Take Away From Watching Khabib Nurmagomedov Coach

    During a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, Nicksick reflected on what it was like getting to watch Nurmagomedov lead sessions at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

    He reflected on one story in particular that showed him how professionalism is key to what they do alongside working hard in the gym.

    “Those guys do it at the highest standard at the highest level. One of the funny things too was Belal Muhammad brought a guest that was not cleared by Khabib and then like Khabib was not happy about that and just like kind of made me realize like I sometimes open my doors too much and allow people to come and train that we don’t get vetted through the system.”

    Nicksick went on to explain that Nurmagomedov walked a fine line between being actually annoyed by this scenario, whilst having fun with it at the same time.

    “You could feel like he was joking but he wasn’t, he was serious about it and Belal was like, ‘Oh dude, I’m so sorry,’ you know, and he goes, ‘I don’t know who this guy is.’ Then like the best part is like Khabib and I are sitting here and he kind of looks at me and he’s like, ‘Yeah Eric, are you going to let a guy in your gym that you don’t know, maybe he’s fighting one of your guys,’ like just kind of punking Belal in front of everybody, it was funny. But obviously, Khabib let the guys still continue to train but there was a process to that.”

    Read also: Daniel Cormier Pushes Back On Interim Title Talk Amid Islam Makhachev Injury: ‘He’s Fought Twice Very Recently!’ 

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

    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 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.”

  • Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’

    Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’

    Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently offered insights on the upcoming title showdown between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya set for UFC 305.

    Du Plessis is set to make the first defense of his middleweight title in a much-awaited showdown of fierce rivalry against Adesanya, headlining the pay-per-view event on August 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.

    “Stillknocks” was originally targeted to challenge Adesanya after his impressive victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023. However, fate had other plans, as an injury sidelined the South African. In the meantime, “The Last Stylebender” suffered an unexpected defeat, losing the middleweight title to Strickland at UFC 293.

    Du Plessis made a triumphant return by defeating Strickland in a razor-close split decision, clinching the 185-pound title at UFC 297 this past January. Now, the stage is perfectly set for these two adversaries to finally settle their scores in the Octagon as Adesanya gears up to make his return after an 11-month hiatus—the longest of his UFC career.

    Nicksick believes that both fighters are evenly matched heading into UFC 305, but the outcome will hinge on just how much “The Last Stylebender” has sharpened his skills during his time away from the competition…

    Nicksick Calls Du Plessis vs. Adesanya a ’50-50′ Battle

    During a recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Nicksick dissected the highly anticipated clash between Du Plessis and Adesanya. The renowned MMA coach predicted that both fighters stand on equal footing with an even chance of victory. However, he emphasized that much will depend on how well the former UFC middleweight champion performs after such a lengthy hiatus from the sport.

    “I kind of consider it a 50-50 coin flip, man. I really do. I’m very curious to see what type of Izzy comes back,” Nicksick said. “In a lot of ways, selfishly, I’m pulling for him because, you know, the division is much better with a talented and, you know, championship-level Israel Adesanya in the division.”

    Nicksick went on to say that, based on Du Plessis’ performance against Strickland, he sees “Stillknocks” as the favorite. He noted that Du Plessis’ unorthodox style makes him a formidable challenge for Adesanya, potentially giving him the edge in this matchup.

    “I really took a liking to Dricus over the last year or so. I wouldn’t say we’re close, but we’re friendly and very respectful towards one another, and I’m pulling for him in a lot of ways because I think he has been severely overlooked over the years. He’s a problem, man, and he’s only getting better. I think the way he’s starting to fight and understand who and what he is as a fighter—he’s awkward in a way like Sean is, but with more power, right? It’s hard—it’s very hard. It was very difficult for us to find particular sparring partners for Dricus’ camp. You’re not going to find many people that can fight like him.”

    Du Plessis and Adesanya have been on a collision course long before their fiery face-off at UFC 290. Their upcoming showdown promises to be a captivating spectacle, as both fighters bring their own distinctive and formidable fighting styles to the table.

  • Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’

    Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’

    When MMA fans first came across Francis Ngannou, many bought into him because of his destructive one punch knockout power that made him a must-watch addition to the UFC’s roster.

    It was then his story, and some incredible highlight reel knockouts, that really helped to turn “The Predator” into a big star in the combat sports world.

    As a result of his incredible journey in life to achieve his dreams after coming from humble beginnings, it’s no surprise that Ngannou is a great person.

    He represents combat sports so well by being a tremendous human being so it was no surprise to see the amount of support he received after what he went through earlier this year.

    Eric Nicksick Shares Recent Moment From The Gym Where Francis Ngannou Shared His Appreciation For One Of The Coaches

    There is sure to be many people that have crossed paths with Ngannou that would be able to talk about the character of the former UFC champion.

    Not many know him better than Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick who described his fighter in an interview with MMA Fighting as a “forward thinker” who is “always trying to leave people better off than when he found them”.

    When asked to give an example of the kind of person Ngannou is behind closed doors, a moment that recently took place in the gym jumped right into his mind.

    Nicksick told the story of how a potentially underappreciated member of the coaching team at the gym, Nathan Pettit, was a recent recipient of Ngannou’s kindness and gratitude.

    “Oh 100%. Nate Pettit is one of our coaches at the gym and Nate’s just one of the hardest workers you’re going to see in the room like the guy’s constantly holding the pads for people, constantly on the road. He’s a dog like he’s just a guy that’s like if you walk in the gym right now, Nate’s working and he doesn’t have a family, doesn’t have a life, his life is this gym. So Nate came up to me, we were putting the new cages together, Nate came up to me with like tears in his eyes, this is like two weeks ago and he’s like, ‘Dude, Francis just handed me a cheque and just said thank you for everything that you do.’

    “I don’t know what the amount was, I didn’t even ask but it was enough to move this man to tears, to an emotion. I said to Francis later on, I was like hey, thanks for hooking up Nate. He’s like, ‘Of course bro, I see how hard he works and I want to pay him for all the time he’s given to others that maybe it’s not reciprocated back to him.’ So you know, just keeping it in the house, keeping it in the family the way he takes care of his coaching staff and the people around him. Nate had a huge role in helping Francis beat Stipe Miocic, Nate ran those wrestling practices along with Dennis Davis so paying it forward to Nate man, that’s just the type of person that Francis is.”

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