Coach Eric Nicksick reveals Tom Aspinall aided Francis Ngannou for MMA return: 'He's an ally'

Francis Ngannou returned to MMA with a thumping vengeance in his PFL debut.

Standing in Ngannou's way Saturday was the towering 6-foot-8 Brazilian Renan Ferreira. It takes a lot to outsize Ngannou, but it was no "Problema" for the one-time PFL heavyweight champion.

Despite his physical advantages, Ferreira fell to the superior Ngannou when wrestled to the mat early. "The Predator" then dropped thunderous ground-and-pound punches to the head of the PFL stalwart to win by first-round TKO. Just like that, Ngannou, 38, was back in the cage and back in the win column for the first time since his final UFC heavyweight title defense over Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

The overall MMA landscape has changed a lot in Ngannou's absence. He and Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick worked diligently in their training to improve steadily. And one of the other top global heavyweights, Tom Aspinall, was a helpful contributor to this latest camp. Nicksick revealed they talked to Aspinall about their Ferreira matchup and got some nice looks from the UFC's interim kingpin.

"He's an ally. He's a guy I hit up when we were going to Paris," Nicksick said of Apsinall on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." "I was like, 'Hey, if you're around, man, I would like to have you come out,' because UFC was fighting in Paris that same week when I was there training Francis. So, I didn't know if UFC was gonna have him out or not. He was close in Manchester.

"He's been a great ally and I think there's been a mutual respect between Tom and Francis. That sportsmanship side of things. Tom was writing me and just saying, 'Here's what I see. What do you think?' I wrote back and forth, and the fight played out kinda how Tom and I thought. Then he wrote me and, 'That's exactly what we said.' It was cool, man. He's a great guy."

Aspinall, 31, has proven to be one of the best and most well-rounded heavyweights on the planet during his ascent. For Nicksick, it certainly didn't hurt to have the assistance of the quickest finisher in the UFC.

Ngannou already touched on the approach to Ferreira during an appearance Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." Nicksick reiterated his student's sentiments, highlighting how wrestling is in the game plan if it's needed. However, the origin of its integration comes from legendary roots.

"It's always a part of the plan if it presents itself," Nicksick said of Ngannou's wrestling. "The plan is to make sure we're ready in all facets of the game. That was definitely something that we leaned heavy on and understanding that the path of least resistance to us was the wrestling if we get top-side heavy.

"Obviously, I have one of the best mentors in the world in Randy Couture, a guy who was in a heavyweight division as an undersized heavyweight and was able to take people down. Learning the biomechanics of how Randy did things, I took a lot of those things and added it in. I talked to Francis, 'Where are you comfortable and how do you like to do these things?' Really put that idea into Francis' hands and allow him to be comfortable in his ground-and-pound and ground game."

"It was a tough couple days out there in Paris getting the crapped kicked out of me," Nicksick added with a laugh.

Getting a win after three colossal losses of various degrees was crucial for Ngannou. It wasn't easy to prepare for it, though. "The Predator" felt there would never be a "right" time for his return. He just had to go out and do it.

Thankfully, Ferreira was a dance partner who was willing to play ball when it came time.

The build to the fight night was relatively tame except for a Ferreira comment that may or may not have been lost in translation during their August pre-fight news conference. It wasn't until the ceremonial weigh-in staredowns that the pair showed some real heat.

Ferreira initiated a head-to-head jockey for position with the former UFC champion, unleashing intensity from both. Nicksick believes this was the moment a switch flipped.

"I just felt like there was a certain way about Francis, and especially after the faceoff," Nicksick said. "I felt like Renan f***ed up by head-butting him and getting in his face, because it really took Francis to a different place. It really did. I've never really seen Francis, not necessarily mad, but it lit a fire under his ass in a different way. I'm thankful for Renan doing that, you know?

"When he did that, I looked over at Dewey [Cooper] and was like, 'Yeah, dude. This is perfect. Thanks.'"

The future is still bright for MMA's lineal heavyweight king. MMA, boxing ... kickboxing?

Who Ngannou fights next is anyone's guess. But a champion of the latter discipline has now emerged as a possibility. The long-reigning GLORY titlist Rico Verhoeven has an apparent interest in a matchup, along with the promotion and Ngannou.

Nicksick has zero issues with the "King of Kickboxing" personally. Although the matchup may cause hesitation for some coaches, he says let's do it.

"We brought Rico in to help us with Ciryl Gane. Rico's amazing," Nicksick said. "He's a great guy. I think he was out there for like a week. Showed us a lot of really great things. I talk to Rico all the time. He's a friend, but fighting's fighting. If these guys want to make some money, then go do your thing. I'm all for it.

"Whatever moves the needle, whatever makes these guys money. Rico, I consider a friend, but at the end of the day, I've cornered against a lot of guys I consider my friends. This is a business. If the numbers match and these guys can make some money off it, why not?"