Eric Nicksick believes Ngannou still has plenty left to offer in MMA and wants to see the former UFC heavyweight champion spend more time inside the cage.
Ngannou has competed in both MMA and boxing since leaving the UFC in 2023. The 40-year-old has won his last two MMA fights by first-round knockout, stopping Renan Ferreira before following it up with another quick finish against Philipe Lins.
Nicksick remains unsure about what comes next for Ngannou but expects to have a better idea after meeting with him soon.
“I’ll actually see him in a couple of days,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie Radio. “… He hasn’t really said much about anything. He celebrated his 40th birthday at the beginning of the month and he had a pretty big blowout, so we’ll see. I’ll get caught up with him and see what’s on his mind, and what he wants to do from a boxing standpoint or MMA standpoint. Hopefully MMA, because obviously I think we’re making some really good strides there. But we’ll see what MVP has to offer for him.”
Ngannou has enjoyed some of his biggest financial opportunities in boxing. The Cameroonian-born fighter shared the ring with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua after leaving the UFC, but Nicksick wants him to continue building his MMA legacy.
“For me personally, the boxing side of things is very much a learning experience for me,” Nicksick said. “I use that time to really sit back and watch what Dewey (Cooper) does and the other coaches and learn how to kind of formulate a game plan when it comes to something that I’m not very familiar with. But on the MMA side of things, we’ve talked about this for years, man.
“Just the development of Francis from that Jairzinho fight all the way to Ciryl Gane to now. it’s like, man, there’s so many things that we’re advancing on. I just wish we had more time in the MMA space because I feel like we could break a lot of records, and he could be left as the greatest ever to do it. And that’s just having more time in the cage. So that’s where I think selfishly, I would love to see him fight more MMA.”
Ngannou remains a free agent after parting ways with the Professional Fighters League in March. He most recently fought under Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions banner, where he stopped Philipe Lins in the first round.
The knockout came at the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano event at Intuit Dome in California in May. Netflix broadcast the event.
Ngannou has not fought since the victory over Lins and has yet to reveal his next move. His future could depend on whether he chooses to return to boxing or make another run in MMA.
Nicksick, however, clearly wants Ngannou back in the cage. The longtime coach believes Ngannou’s development since his fight against Jairzinho Rozenstruik has opened the door for even greater possibilities in MMA.
“Just the development of Francis from that Jairzinho fight all the way to Ciryl Gane to now,” he told MMA Junkie. “It’s like, man, there’s so many things that we’re advancing on. I just wish we had more time in the MMA space because I feel like we could break a lot of records, and he could be left as the greatest ever to do it.
“And that’s just having more time in the cage. So that’s where I think selfishly, I would love to see him fight more MMA.”
Although Nicksick would prefer to see Ngannou focus more on MMA, he admits the fighter’s move into boxing also provided valuable lessons.
Ngannou faced Fury in a highly competitive boxing debut before suffering a defeat to Joshua in his second professional boxing bout. Nicksick said watching Ngannou work with boxing coach Dewey Cooper and other coaches gave him an opportunity to learn and improve his own approach to fight preparation.
“For me personally, the boxing side of things is very much a learning experience for me,” he added. “I use that time to really sit back and watch what Dewey [Cooper] does and the other coaches and learn how to kind of formulate a game plan when it comes to something that I’m not very familiar with.”
