Francis Ngannou’s unprecedented departure from UFC to move into a boxing match with Tyson Fury was not only a lucrative decision for him, but for his team, as well.
Ngannou was one of the top storylines in combat sports in 2023 as he finally parted ways with the UFC early in the year. He signed with PFL for his MMA future, then managed to secure a fight with Fury which many believed was never going to happen for him.
Not only did Ngannou blow away expectations for his performance with a controversial split decision loss to Fury, but he seemingly got eight figures to do it. The exact specifics of Ngannou’s payday remain private due to the fact the fight took place in Saudi Arabia, but he’s made it clear the payout exceeded his UFC earnings by multiples.
The trickle-down effect of that purse was felt by those around him, too. One of Ngannou’s coaches, Eric Nicksick from Xtreme Couture, said the money he received for contributing to Ngannou’s camp was a career-best payday for him, as well.
“It was the most money I’ve ever been paid by a fighter – it was unbelievable,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie Radio. “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. That’s a true story. Literally brought me to tears because he changed my life – not only from a professional standpoint, but a monetary standpoint.
“It allowed me a lot of financial freedom to allow me to be able to enjoy my coaching, enjoy being a dad and a husband and I get to take my kids to Park City this weekend, my daughter’s 16th birthday. Helped us buy a new car. There’s a lot of things with Francis moving over to boxing, and the way he takes care of his team. He loves every single one of us and he shows it. He takes care of us, and I couldn’t thank him enough.”
Nicksick noted that, unlike Ngannou’s final UFC fights, he did not operate as the chief cornerman for the boxing match for Fury. That distinction went to Dewey Cooper.
But even without that status, Nicksick said his cut from Ngannou outweighed anything he’s received previously as a coach.
“Remember, as his head coach, the two title fights with Stipe (Miocic) and (Ciryl) Gane, he paid me more for the Tyson Fury fight as basically his assistant behind Dewey,” Nicksick said. “I was behind Dewey and I got paid way more than I did in the Gane and Stipe fights and he was taking care of me on that, as well, percentage-wise. If he wants to box, man, I’m all for it. All day long, brother.
“I think it does show that you’re able to go outside the UFC and still be successful. It’s hard to put an evaluation when you talk about Francis and his star power and what he’s capable of doing. Can Jeremy Kennedy do that same thing? I don’t know. There’s just guys I don’t know if that’s going to work out in their favor the same way it did for Francis. But it also gives guys more options, and I think more options are important to have.”
As far as options going forward, it remains to be seen what will be next for Ngannou. He’s in play for a return to MMA for his PFL debut at some point in the year, then also has opportunities in boxing.
Nicksick said Ngannou’s top desire is to rematch with Fury, but he’s prepared for that to not happen next as Fury is scheduled for a heavyweight title unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk on Feb. 17.
Deontay Wilder was a name frequently linked to Ngannou in recent months, but his upset loss to Joseph Parker this month, and subsequent indecisiveness about his future, puts that in limbo. In Nicksick’s mind that leaves one most viable option, and that would be Anthony Joshua.
“Unfortunately I was kind of bummed to see Wilder lose,” Nicksick said. “But Joseph Parker’s no slouch, either. But it does take some of the lustre off an Ngannou-Wilder fight, in my opinion. If he had won that fight I think it definitely puts us in a better situation for a selling point. If it ends up being a mixed rules, are we going to fight him in MMA first and then boxing? But after the weekend, I feel like Francis and Joshua is the better matchup, especially on the boxing side of things if that’s what he ends up doing.”
