Francis Ngannou Ready To Fulfill His Destiny

“Obviously we have a game plan for Stipe, but for the past two years, I’ve been working not just for Stipe, but for any other challenge that could come my way,” said Ngannou, expanding on a question about his preparedness for what is likely to come this weekend in Las Vegas and making it about more than just Saturday’s rematch. “In order to be ready for that, I have to do anything I can in my power in terms of training and trying to improve in any area of the fighting game.

“I wouldn’t say specifically for Stipe — I’m doing things to improve my game, which includes building good skills to fight a guy like Stipe. Remember, after Stipe, that is not the end — there is always a challenge coming your way all the time.”

Though he looks the part of a menacing destroyer of worlds, Ngannou is actually a quiet man who picks his words carefully.

MORE UFC 260: Look Back At The UFC Heavyweight Championship Lineage | Miocic's Journey To Champion | Updates To UFC 260 | Significant Stats | Fight by Fight Preview

He speaks softly, his English tinged with a French lilt; his self-consciousness about the language still evident in his measured delivery and the way he shifts in his seat when he doesn’t have the right words to express himself at his disposal.

But when he does speak, Ngannou is direct and honest, seemingly unencumbered by the pride and shame and fear of judgment that prevents so many of us from uttering the truth and understanding that showing vulnerability isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength.

After his highly anticipated clash with fellow atom-smasher Derrick Lewis turned into a 15-minute staring contest that left everyone feeling unsatisfied, Ngannou took to Instagram and apologized, acknowledging that he carried the fears created in his loss to Miocic into the Octagon with him that evening at UFC 226.

He empathized with everyone that was disappointed, took ownership for creating those feelings, and vowed to never let it happen again.

Thus far, he’s been true to his word, but it’s that willingness and readiness to look inward and seek solutions that really stands out to his coach.

“The biggest thing as a coach and a friend is Francis’ self-accountability,” began Nicksick, who has been at the helm of Xtreme Couture’s return to prominence over the last few years. “He didn’t say, ‘This is why I lost’ and finger-point — he’s accountable in his regard knowing, ‘I didn’t do these things correctly. I need to get better in these areas. Will you help me?’ That’s a refreshing mentality for a coach seeing this guy is hat in hand and wants to get better, no matter the outcome. How can you ever get mad at a guy like that?

“I don’t think he should have been a champion back then,” Nicksick added. “I don’t think the timing was right for him then. I think he needed to hit a little adversity, figure out who and what he needed to become, and this is now the byproduct of that.”

Ngannou’s introspection doesn’t end at analyzing his losses and adjusting from setbacks; it’s a total life approach that allows him to put everything into greater context and take a wide-angle view of things.

“I have changed a lot because the time between my first fight and my second fight is almost the time that I had been doing the sport before my first fight,” said Ngannou, who had been a professional for a little over four years when he first fought Miocic four years ago in Boston. “If you think about it, I’m almost twice what I was back then skill-wise, experience-wise; even more because there were a lot of things that I had never been through before that fight that I didn’t understand how it works.”

“I think his Fight IQ has grown to the point now where he’s starting to like the other elements of MMA, including the wrestling, the grappling, and the jiu-jitsu, and that helps a lot because it’s like you’re giving an artist more paint to paint with,” offered Nicksick. “It’s also helped because he understood what some of his weaknesses were and instead of just doubling down on what his strengths are, we talk to him a lot about focusing on the things that you think you’re not good at yet.

“He feels like a different animal now that he has these other tools that he can work with, play with.”

Order UFC 260: Miocic vs Ngannou 2 For Any Device

In a sport where nearly all of the greatest competitors of all-time have dealt with setbacks inside the cage, the way Ngannou was quickly dismissed following a pair of losses after being christened “The Next Big Thing” has always felt like a gross overreaction.

Now, as he readies to face Miocic for a second time and potentially fulfill the destiny many forecasted for him several years ago, the challenger has proven himself to be much more adept at handling the sundry secondary and tertiary obligations and expectations that come with being in his position, just like many who followed a comparable path before him.

And when it comes to Saturday night, he’s not worried about answering lingering philosophical thought experiments about his takedown defense — his sole focus is on exiting the Octagon with the heavyweight title draped over his shoulder.

“As long as my hand is raised, that will be a good fight for me. The only thing I want to see is my hand raised.

“On March 27, I’m going to become the heavyweight champion.”