In a betting game gone wrong, Francis Ngannou lost a wager of roughly $370,000+ (€320K) for backing his home country, Cameroon, at the African Cup of Nations. Amidst this gut-wrenching financial setback, his coach wants Ngannou to open up doors to potential fight promoters.

While already signed with PFL, UFC still stands as the biggest and most lucrative MMA promotion, and that’s where Eric Nicksick wants Ngannou to set his sights, patching up their sour rift.

Francis Ngannou’s coach urges him to bury the hatchet with Dana White

Xtreme Couture MMA head coach, Eric Nicksick, recently joined MMA Fighting for a podcast, where the conversation inevitably turned to the bad blood between Francis Ngannou and UFC boss Dana White. Nicksick acknowledged his nuanced relationship with both parties, refusing to take sides in the well-known fiasco. However, Nicksick stated he wants both of them to look past their differences.

“I wish that somewhere down the line that these two could mend those fences, just on a personal level. I’d rather have friends than enemies, and at the end of the day, hopefully, these guys can reconcile and, you know, put away their differences,” he told Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.

The controversy that sizzled after White made claims of Ngannou putting hands on the UFC boss for a $50K bonus snub reopened an old wound from a years-old incident, which Nicksick finds illogical. In fact, Ngannou’s coach believes that White might even miss Ngannou in the roster, especially with the heavyweight division in limbo since Tom Aspinall’s eye trauma, if the matters hadn’t heated up between them.

“Hopefully, at some point those two can sit down man-to-man and just let all this s**t go,” Nicksick repeated, given Ngannou’s MMA ambitions, with the UFC being a potential outlet for those goals.”Like, why do you want to carry that energy, you know what I mean? It’s like, f**k, I don’t want to carry that energy every day and have that.”

Moreover, after that financially scarring bet and a PFL contract nearing its expiration, a mended relationship might put Ngannou in the UFC’s good graces.

Francis Ngannou leaves the door open for a potential UFC return

Francis Ngannou’s financial dreams are sky-high, especially in light of the hefty checks of $10 million and $20 million that his boxing rounds with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua brought him. Still, not one to put an end to his fighting career, Ngannou’s ambitions have shifted to MMA now, with his PFL contract.

However, Ngannou seems to have only fought once with the promotion, back in 2023, against Renan Ferreira. With the contract near its end, Ngannou has one last fight with the PFL, and he already has an opponent in mind. Accepting PFL Heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov’s callout, Ngannou quipped, “I been ready for a long time.”

While talks of that potential HW bout bubble, Ngannou has also seemingly shown interest in returning to the UFC. Confirming that he will be a free agent just in time for the UFC White House event, Ngannou told Ariel Helwani that “everything can happen,” hinting at his potential return.

When asked specifically about a Jon Jones bout, he responded, “That could happen. If I were you, I wouldn’t be that excited, that fight being so complicated.” Indeed, since it’s unlikely either party will extend an olive branch, the anticipated bout could become a clash between two of the UFC’s most controversial fighters.

However, with Ngannou clearly wanting to get a footing inside the UFC once again, Nicksick’s advice becomes even more relevant and urgent for the ex-UFC star. Would you like to see Francis Ngannou back in the UFC? Or has Dana White parted ways with him for the best? Share your thoughts below.