Francis Ngannou's coach responds to allegations that first-round KO was result of illegal shots… 'This guy must owe (the referee) money'

Francis Ngannou head coach responds to PFL: Battle of the Giants controversy

If you scroll through social media today, it won't be long before you come across Ferreira fans claiming that Ngannou's win last night was simply the result of a series of illegal punches to the back of the Brazilian's head.

In fact, some fans even argue that The Predator should have been banned from the competition entirely due to the strikes.

“To be honest, I haven't heard or seen anything about it,” head coach Eric Nicksick told MMA Junkie, before quickly noting that there's also an argument that the fight should have been stopped already. that these final blows connect.

“I mean, if it was, I'd have to see when it was, but the fight probably could have been stopped a lot sooner… I don't know when those attacks happened, I saw some of the replays, and I didn't like, “Oh, they were on the back of the head or something like that.”

Nicksick admitted he was already on his feet when Ngannou began landing his vicious ground-and-pound, expecting referee Dan Miragliotta to quickly call him off when he saw the damage Ferreira had sustained.

“At one point I jumped up because I thought it was over. I thought, 'It's over' and then Dan said (carry on) … 'This guy must owe Dan money,' so I sat back down and watched him take a whooping (instead).”

Just before the finishing sequence, Renan Ferreira made several submission attempts from behind, and although Nicksick was concerned about the tightness of the first triangle, he knew it wouldn't be long before Ngannou would open from the top position.

“I would say the triangle was the only thing we looked at, and then the triangle morphed into a leg or heel hook. But once he stood up and I saw his posture, with his knee in his face…

“I was just thinking about how many times Francis has sat on me and I let Francis put me in my place. He’s nice to me, if he puts his knee in the guy’s face and then starts hammer fisting, he’ll get out.”

Coach Nicksick reveals a rib injury almost cost Francis Ngannou the fight

After the fight came to its brutal, if not slightly controversial, end, Ngannou revealed that he had been training for the PFL Super Fight with an injured rib.

Coach Nicksick addressed the severity of the injury, explaining that it caused Ngannou significant pain, but it wasn't enough for “The Predator” to seriously consider retiring.

“It was bad enough, you have to remember he broke his knee and didn't want to get out of the Ciryl Gane fight, but there's a difference… Different outings, yes, but it was a different kind of pain for him .

“Obviously we had a very grappling-heavy game plan, but he was worried about how he would move and wrestle with a bruised rib if he was put on his back…But once he went to the doctors, he was taken down by the Treatment cleared MRI, I think he realized, “I'm going to be fine, I'm going to get through this.””

Related Posts