"There was a language barrier" - Eric Nicksick details Francis Ngannou's earliest days at Xtreme Couture

Eric Nicksick shed light on some of the challenges he faced when he first met Francis Ngannou. He revealed that there were language and cultural barriers that prevented Ngannou from fully interacting with the team.

Speaking on Ngannou's YouTube channel, Nicksick explained that the Cameroonian did not speak to many of his teammates when he first moved to Las Vegas. It wasn't until Ngannou warmed up to his coach's personality that he finally started to come out of his shell:

"I met Francis... He moved out to Vegas, I believe, the camp of Stipe one. Very quiet, he came to the gym and didn't speak to a lot of people. There was a language barrier, all those things. I'm kind of a fun-loving guy as it is. I'm a hugger, I'm a high-fiver and Francis always kind of laughed at that. Like, 'Man, the first day I met you, you're hugging me and high-fiving me. From my culture, we're just not really like that. But then I started to see that you're like that with everybody and I started to understand your personality and vice-versa'."

Watch Eric Nicksick speak about Francis Ngannou below:

Francis Ngannou's fight against Ciryl Gane could be the last time we see him competing inside the UFC octagon. The heavyweight title unifier is the last fight on his current contract and negotiations for an extension haven't exactly been smooth. There is a chance 'The Predator' may leave the UFC following the pay-per-view and join another promotion or even pursue boxing.

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"We don't have history" - Francis Ngannou addresses the history that he and Ciryl Gane supposedly have

Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane have videos of them sparring together that suggest they have a history together. However, the Cameroon native has revealed that their past is not as significant as it is made out to be.

During a sit-down with Michael Bisping for BT Sports, the UFC heavyweight champion stated that the relationship between him and Gane was temporary. 'The Predator' detailed the circumstances that led him to train with the French fighter:

"We don't have history... we don't used to train. I trained with this guy probably about six times, less than eight times in three weeks and that's all. Back in 2019, I was already based in Vegas... After I fought Curtis Blaydes in China, I went to Cameroon. On my way back, I stopped in France because I had the Cain Velasquez fight in Phoenix... I was running out of time so I stopped in France for one month. [Ciryl Gane] was getting ready for a fight, so we trained together for the three weeks that he was there."

Watch Ngannou explain his history with Gane below: