"Literally brought me to tears” - Eric Nicksick opens up about Francis Ngannou’s generosity after receiving a huge paycheck for the Tyson Fury clash
Francis Ngannou's coach, Eric Nicksick, recently opened up about his student's immense generosity following the recent clash with Tyson Fury.
Several months ago, Ngannou faced off against the WBC champion in an epic crossover event in Riaydh, Saudi Arabia. 'The Predator' was rumored to make over six times more for this fight as compared to his previous UFC fight against Ciryl Gane.
During a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Nicksick confirmed that he was paid more for the Tyson Fury training camp than he had been paid by any other fighter, for any other training camp.
The head coach of Xtreme Couture MMA was candid about Francis Ngannou's kindness during the interview, and said:
"It's the most money I've ever been paid by a fighter. It was unbelievable. It was more than I expected... Obviously Francis has always taken great care of me, but it floored me when I saw my Wells-Fargo account that morning. It literally brought me to tears."
He continued:
"He changed my life, not only from a professional stand point, but from a monetary stand point. It allowed me a lot of financial freedom to be able to enjoy my coaching, to enjoy being a dad and a husband. I get to take my kids to park city this weekend, my daughter's 16th birthday. It helped us buy a new car."
Watch the video below from 4:40:
Gilbert Burns shares story of him "popping" Francis Ngannou's arm during a BJJ roll
Francis Ngannou's grappling skillset has greatly improved since he began training MMA in 2012, no doubt through countless hours in the training room working with high-level wrestlers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practictioners.
Gilbert Burns, who has one of the best BJJ backgrounds of any UFC fighter, recently shared a story of him rolling with 'The Predator' several years ago. The pair trained at Blackzilians, a gym that closed in 2017, which previously housed the likes of Kamaru Usman and Vitor Belfort.
During Burns' recent appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST, he detailed his experience training with Francis Ngannou and said:
"I trained with him before, he didn't like it... We were still at Blackzilians, so it was five years ago maybe. And we grappled hard, and I got his arm and he didn't tap and I popped his arm! I was so afraid, I said, 'Oh my God.' This guy's gonna kill me now! But he was cool about it."
Watch the video below from 3:35: