Eric Nicksick, Francis Ngannou’s coach, recently shared his thoughts on the tremendous charity displayed by his student in the aftermath of the recent fight with Tyson Fury.
During a historic crossover event that took place in Riadh, Saudi Arabia, Ngannou competed against the WBC champion. This event took place few months ago. It was speculated that “The Predator” would earn more than six times as much for this battle as he did for his previous bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship versus Ciryl Gane.
Nicksick revealed in a recent interview with MMAJunkie that he was paid more for the Tyson Fury training camp than he has been paid by any other fighter, for any previous training camp. This was the case regardless of the context of the interview.
During the interview, the head coach of Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts was open and honest about Francis Ngannou’s compassionate nature, and he stated:
“This is the most money that a boxer has ever paid me in my whole career. It was difficult to believe. It exceeded my expectations in every way… Although it is obvious that Francis has always been very kind to me, the fact that I was able to view my Wells-Fargo account that morning really blew my mind. It brought tears to my eyes in a literal sense.
He went on to say:
“He altered the course of my life, not just in terms of my professional experiences but also in terms of my financial circumstances. It gave me a great deal of financial flexibility, which enabled me to take pleasure in my coaching jobs, as well as in my roles as a father and a husband. It is my daughter’s sixteenth birthday this weekend, and I will be able to take my children to Park City. Because of that, we were able to purchase a new vehicle.
Gilbert Burns shares story of him “popping” Francis Ngannou’s arm during a BJJ roll
Since Francis Ngannou started studying mixed martial arts in 2012, his grappling talent has significantly improved. This improvement cannot be attributed to the endless hours that he has spent in the training room, working with high-level wrestlers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners.
Recently, Gilbert Burns, who has one of the most impressive backgrounds in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) of any UFC fighter, recounted a story about how he rolled with “The Predator” a number of years ago. In 2017, Blackzilians, a gym that had previously been home to notable individuals such as Kamaru Usman and Vitor Belfort, shuttered its doors. The pair had been training at Blackzilians.
During his most recent visit on the JAXXON PODCAST, Burns discussed his time spent training with Francis Ngannou and made the following statement:
When we had worked out together in the past, he did not enjoy it… If we were still at Blackzilians at the time, then it must have been five years ago. And after a fierce struggle, I managed to grab his arm, and he didn’t even bother to tap, so I popped his arm! Because I was so terrified, I exclaimed, “Oh my God.” Right now, this guy is going to kill me! But he didn’t seem to mind about it.”
