"That was a troll move on my part" - Eric Nicksick explains Daniel Cormier's role in Francis Ngannou's UFC 260 camp

MMA coach and Xtreme Couture's own Eric Nicksick explained Daniel Cormier’s role in Francis Ngannou’s UFC 260 training camp.

Speaking to Sportskeeda's John Hyon Ko, Eric Nicksick opened up on multiple topics. Most notably, Eric Nicksick revealed that Cormier’s contribution to the camp was primarily in the mental aspect of the game rather than the physical or technical aspect.

Expounding upon the same, Eric Nicksick shed light upon how everything fell into place for Francis Ngannou’s UFC heavyweight title-winning performance at UFC 260 (March 27th, 2021).

Additionally, Eric Nicksick spoke about traveling the world during the COVID-19 global pandemic, as a part of his duties as a coach and corner person for his fighters, having qualms in traveling wherever need be to get the job done.

Eric Nicksick noted that with Las Vegas – the home of Xtreme Couture where he works as a coach – easing the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, things are getting back to normal.

Eric Nicksick added that the economy and everything else is slowly getting back to normal, and that he’s happy about it. He pointed out that small businesses were hit by logistical restrictions brought on by the pandemic, and he noted that it’s good to see businesses recovering as lockdown rules ease up.

Crediting his wife, who’s a real estate agent, for helping out several fighters with regards to property deals in the area, Eric Nicksick revealed that his wife and former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate often work together as investors.

The conversation then shifted to Tate, an Xtreme Couture member who’ll be making her UFC return for her first MMA fight since her retirement in November 2016.

Addressing Tate’s upcoming comeback fight in the UFC, Eric Nicksick suggested that Tate had recently stepped up her training at the gym, but he had no idea that she intended to return to active MMA competition.

Eric Nicksick noted that Tate eventually let him and the other coaches in on her plans. Nicksick claims that Tate once again has that competitive fire in her, something that she’d seemingly lost around the time of her November 2016 fight against Raquel Pennington.

Yet another notable MMA star Eric Nicksick spoke about was former UFC fighter Jake Shields. Nicksick touched upon Shields’ unique ability of nullifying his opponent’s game plans. Eric Nicksick also spoke about how Shields has been making great contributions at Xtreme Couture.

Nicksick also indicated that keeping an open mind, learning from everyone around him, and constantly surrounding himself with knowledgeable people he can learn from is what he focuses on to evolve and educate himself as much as possible.

Concerning the criticism that certain referees and judges have been receiving as of late for their decisions in prominent UFC fights, Eric Nicksick opined that the referees and judges could most definitely benefit from attending practice sessions and educating themselves about the sport of MMA.

The recent Fabricio Werdum and Renan Ferreira PFL fight was also briefly addressed during our conversation with Eric Nicksick. The Las Vegas-based MMA coach chimed in with his two cents on Ferreira’s knockout win being overturned to a No Contest (NC) due to the controversy surrounding the fight wherein Ferreira appeared to lightly tap.

Werdum claimed that he loosened the submission hold after feeling the tap, but he was then knocked out by Ferreira. Eric Nicksick believes it did somewhat resemble a tap, but it’s indeed rare to see decisions in MMA overturned by the Athletic Commissions.

Eric Nicksick also spoke about one of his star pupils, UFC featherweight contender Dan Ige. Eric Nicksick noted that Ige has learned from his loss against Calvin Kattar and came back strong in his most recent fight, knocking out the tough and durable Gavin Tucker.

Dan Ige will be facing Chan Sung Jung aka The Korean Zombie next, and Eric Nicksick noted that they’re expecting the best version of TKZ to show up against Ige. Eric Nicksick noted that they aren’t reading too much into The Korean Zombie’s recent loss against Brian Ortega, and that Ige looks forward to facing and beating the best version of TKZ.

Erick Nicksick also praised UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, another prominent fighter who trains at Xtreme Couture. Eric Nicksick noted that he didn’t expect Petr Yan to land an illegal knee on a downed Sterling during their title fight.

On that note, Eric Nicksick highlighted that he knows that Yan isn’t necessarily a bad person, but Yan did in fact make a mistake by landing the illegal knee while Sterling was clearly down on the mat. Nicksick added that Sterling is back in the gym after spending time on the sidelines due to injury issues, and it’s great to see him ease his way back into training again.

Eric Nicksick on Daniel Cormier’s role in Francis Ngannou’s camp for UFC 260

Upon being asked whether Francis Ngannou’s victory over Stipe Miocic in their UFC heavyweight title fight at UFC 260 validated a lot for him (Eric Nicksick), Nicksick stated:

“Yeah, I do. And I feel like there was, you know, there was a lot of questions being asked about, like, what he (Ngannou) was doing training-wise, with his grappling, with his wrestling. And that’s fuel for us, man. We had to hear it over and over and over, like. And it was funny too because, like, I posted a picture with DC (Daniel Cormier); that was just a troll move on my part.

“But we had DC come in. He literally came in for an hour. And, you know, I was kind of bugging him too when we were in Fight Island, ‘Bro, I just want you to come in’. And just, really, I just wanted DC to talk about the preparation and getting the mental side. It wasn’t much of the technique stuff. It was just like, hey, man. I wanted Francis to understand that to exhaust all your options. Don’t, you know, step over a dollar to pick up a dime when it comes to your training partners. Hire people. Bring people in. Make everything you can happen for this win because the money will come later on. And that’s what he did, man. And DC came in and helped us really lay out the blueprint on what we needed to do outside the cage.

“And then, you know, (Kamaru) Usman comes in for the week, and now Usman’s a wrestling coach. And they’re just great, bro. Everything kind of fell into place with what we needed. But really, you know, coach Dewey Cooper and I are in the weeds with Francis. We really set up a good training system for him. He believed in everything that we were telling him to do. He listens well. And I think that’s the most important thing with Francis is if you’re able to explain the reasons why, it resonates with him. He understands, ‘Okay, I understand. If I do this, this will open up this. If I do this, this will negate that'. And that’s all you really have to do – Just explain it to him, and help him grow his fight IQ. And then you just saw it unfold that night.“

Additionally, with regard to Francis Ngannou being in Africa and when he’s likely to return to the US to train, Eric Nicksick said:

“So, he’s gonna hopefully be back in early June. I think he has like an appearance, June 5th, in Miami. So, he’ll make that trek back. So, he’ll probably go to Miami for a few days and then head back. And we have nothing on the docket. I mean, they haven’t told us anything.”

Eric Nicksick then spoke about the much-anticipated Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones matchup. Nicksick continued:

“I’ve heard from multiple sources that don’t even worry about Derrick Lewis yet. It’s going to be Jon. I’ve heard it’s Derrick. I’ve heard it’s this. I said, ‘Look, man. I’m not too worried about any of that stuff. When that time comes, we’ll be ready and we’ll get prepared’.”

Praising Francis Ngannou and referring to him as family, Eric Nicksick explained:

“My biggest thing for Francis is that he’s been so locked in on attaining the title that I’m just glad he’s got a little bit of downtime. I’m really glad he got to go home and celebrate with his countrymen, his mom, his family. That stuff was always, always very important for me – To be able to see him put that belt around his mom. That’s been one of his goals that he’s had written down for a long, long time. So, you know, he’s my family, man. We’re close. Me and him are tight; love him like my brother. So, just seeing him happy and seeing him succeed on all the trials and tribulations he’s had in his life, it just makes it all worth it, being a coach.”

Regarding the current uncertainty surrounding the Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones dream matchup and talks of Ngannou potentially fighting Stipe Miocic in a trilogy bout or Derrick Lewis in a rematch next, Eric Nicksick said:

“Kind of; sort of. I think you just always expect something. And I think that’s the beauty about MMA; it’s like you always just kind of roll with the punches. You’re never too set on things because it’s like, man, injuries happen, opponents change. You know, God forbid, a pandemic happens. You’re constantly just trying to figure it out. And that’s the essence of MMA. It’s a constant evolution. And you have to roll with the punches, literally and figuratively. You know, you have to show up sometimes and then change your game plan and do things on the fly.

"So, I actually thought that they were going to give Stipe an immediate rematch if we won. That’s what I actually thought. And then the fashion, the way that Francis won, I knew that Stipe is gonna need a little time off. So, yeah, I mean, I hope it’s Jon, not for any reason other than the fact that I think Jon’s the greatest to ever do it. And like I said earlier, I like to compete. And I think Jon is the best. And I want to just compete against the best guys while we can. And who doesn’t want to fight Jon Jones, you know.”

Further, Eric Nicksick was asked for his views on a video of Diego Sanchez’s coach Joshua Fabia’s upside-down training technique. Eric Nicksick noted that Fabia hitting Sanchez while the latter was hanging upside down was pure negligence.

Eric Nicksick noted:

“It’s negligence, you know. It’s just flat out negligence. There is no purpose to that. There absolutely is no reason to do something like that to any of your fighters, to be honest with you. Like, no one in their right mind is going to hang somebody upside down, who obviously has had a long, long career. I want you to think of something too. And I want you to look at what Max Holloway is doing. He’s not sparring at all. And Max has earned that right. He’s seen thousands and thousands of rounds. But his product is getting better and better because he’s resting his brain and he’s doing things to take care of himself for later on down the line.

"We learned that at an early age, at an early time at Xtreme Couture. We had wars in there, man. I’ve been there for 14 years. So, a lot of the wars we saw at the gym were all for naught. And then with the likes of Jay Hieron and Forrest Griffin and Mike Pyle, I got to learn from those guys a lot. And I think one thing that I took away from that was limit the gym wars and take care of your fighters – Because at the end of the day, their longevity is their cash cow. But I think when push comes to shove, at the end of this all, you want them to be competent human beings at the end of their careers.

"And I think you see those guys – not to name any names – but you see some of the stuff that they’re talking and how they are. And they’re not all with it because of the brain health. So, to see a guy like Josh Fabia; I don’t know his background. I’m not gonna talk about any of that stuff. But what he did on video; hanging him (Diego Sanchez) upside down and kneeing him to his head and kicking him, there’s just no rhyme or reason for that. It’s just straight up negligence if you ask me.” (Interview & transcription credit: Sportskeeda)

Eric Nicksick also credited Brad Tavares for bringing in a large number of Hawaiian fighters to Xtreme Couture. Nicksick had words of high praise for the Hawaiian fighters, crediting them for their toughness in helping raise the bar at Xtreme Couture.

Eric Nicksick’s pupil Francis Ngannou is the reigning UFC heavyweight champion who finds himself in a rather unique position

Prior to his title win at UFC 260, the UFC had confirmed that the winner of the Miocic-Ngannou matchup would defend their UFC heavyweight title against MMA legend Jon Jones next. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones vacated his 205-pound title in August 2020 and confirmed that he’d be moving up to the heavyweight division.

However, after Francis Ngannou’s victory at UFC 260, Jon Jones and the UFC seemingly got into a dispute over Jones’ remuneration for the fight against Ngannou. Jones and the UFC are yet to reach an agreement as to how much he’ll be paid for his UFC heavyweight title matchup against Ngannou – a fight that’ll also be Jones’ debut in the heavyweight division.

Regardless, as Eric Nicksick noted during our conversation with him, he and Francis Ngannou are prepared for any opponent presented to them.

What are your views on Eric Nicksick’s statements regarding Francis Ngannou and the other notable topics he addressed? Sound off in the comments.