Eric Nicksick has admitted that he was ‘brought to tears’ by his payday from Francis Ngannou’s fight with Tyson Fury.
Former UFC champion Ngannou lost his boxing match against Fury by split decision in October, but the scorecards proved controversial. Ngannou even scored an early knockdown of the WBC heavyweight boxing champion.
Ngannou’s mixed martial arts coach Nicksick was in the Cameroonian’s corner in Saudi Arabia, alongside striking coach Dewey Cooper and boxing legend Mike Tyson, and Nicksick has now reflected on his life-changing payday.
“It was the most money I’ve ever been paid by a fighter, it was unbelievable,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “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. [It] 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.
“Remember, as his head coach, the two title fights with Stipe [Miocic] and [one against Ciryl] Gane... He paid me more for the Tyson Fury fight as basically his assistant behind Dewey. 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.”
Ngannou mocks Tyson Fury after knocking down the boxer— (AFP via Getty Images)
Ngannou, 37, made his professional boxing debut in his bout with Fury, in which the Briton’s WBC title was not on the line.
Previously, Ngannou won the UFC heavyweight title by knocking out Miocic in 2021, three years after losing to the American on points while first challenging for the belt. The Cameroonian then retained the title against former teammate Gane in 2022, before leaving the UFC in January 2023 and giving up the gold in the process.
Ngannou then signed with the Professional Fighters League, an MMA promotion in which he is due to debut in 2024. As part of his deal with the PFL, Ngannou is allowed to box on the side.
