Ngannou’s Coach Wants Aspinall In Camp
Francis Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick, says they are trying to work with Tom Aspinall ahead of The Predator’s PFL debut against Renan Ferreira on October 19.
Ngannou has his first MMA fight since leaving the UFC in 2022 after stopping Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. His departure followed after contract talks broke down, ending hopes of seeing The Predator face Jon Jones. Ngannou reportedly turned down an $8 million offer after concerns that his rights as an independent contractor would diminish. He would then sign with the PFL. He took up his options to box, facing Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
While he lost those fights, he did come out with a lot of credit. He took Fury to the distance, dropping the Gypsy King in the third round before losing a narrow split decision. The win earned him a top-ten WBC ranking, after which he secured Joshua’s fight. Joshua knocked out Ngannou in the second round. But those two fights have secured his financial future, as he has earned more than his entire UFC career.
Ngannou’s Career
Ngannou is also the Chairman of PFL Africa, with the playoffs beginning next year. However, in the meantime, he must prepare for Ferreira. Ferreira is coming off a big win after having beaten Ryan Bader on the PFL vs. Bellator Champs card this year. Ferreira is also the PFL Heavyweight Champion, meaning that Ngannou is facing the best.
Aspinall is the current UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion who has been chasing the John Jones fight. Aspinall stopped Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 to avenge the only defeat of his UFC career. The win means that he is now in a title position to face the winner of Jones or Stipe Miocic, who face off on November 16.
It appears that Ngannou is trying to face the very best in MMA. His coach said that they had reached out to Aspinall. However, the Brit has not been able to come into camp so far. But that did not stop Aspinall from trying to help in other ways. He gave a list of sparring partners who could offer some assistance if Aspinall cannot get there himself.
Ngannou’s Coach
“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,” Nicksick said
Aspinall and Ngannou are considered some of the best fighters in the world. However, they have both struggled to get the Jones fight. Dana White has said he will never work with Ngannou again following his UFC departure. He also shut down any suggestions of a co-promotion with the PFL. Aspinall has been chasing the Jones fight. However, Jones could retire after facing Miocic, leaving fans without another big fight. While Aspinall and Ngannou are with different promotions, if any fight did go down between them, it would certainly be a blockbuster.
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