Coach: Francis Ngannou could be 'greatest ever to do it' if he sticks to MMA

Eric Nicksick thinks Francis Ngannou has a lot more to give in MMA.

Ngannou has been competing in MMA and boxing simultaneously ever since parting ways with the UFC in 2022. The former UFC heavyweight champion is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts of Renan Ferreira and Philipe Lins in MMA.

Nicksick isn't sure what's next for Ngannou (19-3), but plans on finding out very soon.

"I'll actually see him in a couple of days," Nicksick told MMA Junkie Radio. "... He hasn't really said much about anything. He celebrated his 40th birthday at the beginning of the month and he had a pretty big blowout, so we'll see. I'll get caught up with him and see what's on his mind, and what he wants to do from a boxing standpoint or MMA standpoint. Hopefully MMA, because obviously I think we're making some really good strides there. But we'll see what MVP has to offer for him."

While the bigger opportunities have come in the ring, where Ngannou boxed both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, Nicksick wants "The Predator" to continue being undeniable in MMA.

"For me personally, the boxing side of things is very much a learning experience for me," Nicksick said. "I use that time to really sit back and watch what Dewey (Cooper) does and the other coaches and learn how to kind of formulate a game plan when it comes to something that I'm not very familiar with. But on the MMA side of things, we've talked about this for years, man.

"Just the development of Francis from that Jairzinho fight all the way to Ciryl Gane to now. it's like, man, there's so many things that we're advancing on. I just wish we had more time in the MMA space because I feel like we could break a lot of records, and he could be left as the greatest ever to do it. And that's just having more time in the cage. So that's where I think selfishly, I would love to see him fight more MMA."