Francis Ngannou is about to make his PFL debut and after everything he has been through outside of combat sports, Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick is thrilled to have him back and working toward his MMA return.

Ngannou will make his long-awaited debut under the PFL banner against 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on October 19. It will be the first MMA fight for Ngannou after his last fight in the UFC, a unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane.

“I’m happy for him, and we’ve talked a lot about how his son died. I want to take his mind off things and let him focus on his fighting career,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “I wasn’t sure if he would ever fight again.

“With a tragedy like that, with a loss like that, you never know how someone is going to recover from it. But getting him back in the room, getting him back in the gym, it reignited his MMA desire and he wanted to fight, so I’m happy for him, man. He seems to be doing well right now.”

“The Predator” took full advantage of the flexibility that a contract with the PFL gave him: the opportunity to compete in boxing. Ngannou made his professional debut in the boxing ring against champion Tyson Fury and attracted a lot of attention by scoring the only knockdown in a split decision loss. He then faced former champion Anthony Joshua but was finished in the second round.

Much more important than his second boxing loss was the death of his son Kobe, which occurred a month later. Ngannou admitted that he considered retirement while he was struggling to come to terms with the death of his son.

Nicksick is just happy to be able to help Ngannou take his mind off his family’s tragedy.

“I think our main focus was getting him back in the room and helping him heal, that was it,” Nicksick said. “If he felt comfortable during that time, during that process, that he wanted to fight again, then so be it. We were really more concerned with his psyche and getting our friend back and taking care of him.

“…We’re talking about the most resilient person I’ve ever met. I just believe that God, fate, the universe, for some reason, puts these hurdles in this man’s path, and we’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

It will be 1,001 days between MMA fights for Ngannou when he steps into the cage for the first time in the PFL. While his focus lately has been on competing in the boxing ring against world-class competition, Nicksick said Ngannou has never stopped working on his wrestling game as well. Because of this, he believes Ngannou will shine in the PFL.

“It’s an honor to be by his side,” Nicksick said. “He’s my friend first and foremost. I know I’m his coach at the end of the day, but we’re brothers in arms. I know what he’s fighting for and I know his goal right now. I’m here to help him achieve that goal.”