Francis Ngannou's trainer reveals the fighter fought injured in the PFL 'Superfight'

Eric Nicksick is the coach of Francis Ngannou. photo: Instagram / Eric Nicksick

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Inactive in MMA for almost three years, Francis Ngannou has overcome the pain of losing his son seven months ago and won the PFL heavyweight title (up to 120,2 kg) by knockout Renan Problem in the first round. In addition to the emotional devastation of the tragedy, the 'Predator' entered the fight also having to deal with a physical limitation.

Even though the victory happened by first round knockout, Eric Nicksick, Ngannou's coach, said in an interview with 'MMA Junkie' that training for the fight was hampered by a rib injury. This condition made the fighter consider the possibility of pulling out of the fight.

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“It was a difficult situation, to the point where we had to reflect: he broke his knee and, even so, he didn’t give up the fight against Cyryl Gane, but he almost gave up on this one. The scenarios were different, but it was also a different kind of pain for him. And obviously we had a very grappling-focused game plan,” Nicksick said.

Although the victory came through the strategy of using grappling, the coach said there was special concern if Ngannou had to fight from the bottom at some point against 'Problem'.

“He was worried that he was going to fall on his back and have trouble moving and grappling with his injured rib. But after seeing the doctors, who cleared him after an MRI and other tests, he realized, ‘I’m going to be OK. I can get through this,’” Eric revealed.

I've fought while injured

It wasn't the first time the heavyweight had been forced to fight after suffering an injury. Twenty-five days before his fight against Cyryl Gane No. UFC 270, in January 2022, Ngannou suffered ruptures in three ligaments in his right knee. At the time, he won the fight by decision of the judges and defended the UFC belt.