Former Strikeforce champion and ex-UFC fighter Josh Thomson, along with his co-host on the “Weighing In” podcast, have criticized trainer Cyril Gan and former trainer Francis Ngannou Fernand Lopez.
John McCarthy: “I am sure that Cyril Gun will come back stronger, he will learn this lesson. And his corner should learn a lesson too. What they told him before the 5th round – they absolutely did not help. Just no specifics.”
Josh Thomson: “The problem with this coach is that he built the whole history of the fight around himself. I have seen such situations many times in AKA. The coach comes, the fighter rises in the ratings, and the coach starts pulling the blanket over himself – I want to bandage my hands, I want to go into the cage, I want to smear Vaseline on his face. They put themselves at the center of the story. And that puts a lot of pressure on the fighter. This should not be done, especially during a combat week. If this coach had kept his mouth shut, it would have helped Gan a lot more.”
John McCarthy: “Before the 5th round, he told him: “We can’t lose this fight.” (in the original – “We are losing the fight. We cannot lose this fight on cardio. It’s impossible. Impossible. Impossible” – approx.). First, there is no “we”. One person enters the cell. Secondly, it is a negative presentation of “we can’t”. You have to give your vision that it is now 2-2 rounds and then specific instructions on what to do. “We can’t lose this fight!” – what kind of pumping is this before the decisive round? And at the same time, Ngannou’s coaches Eric Nixic and Dewey Cooper did a fantastic job. After the 4th round, Francis Ngannou was absolutely exhausted and Eric focused him on breathing and then on being positive. He took him away from this fatigue, returned his head to its place. As a coach, you have no right to bring negativity into the cage. You have to concentrate on what needs to be done, give specifics.
Josh Thomson: “Honestly, the fight didn’t impress me, terrible, I didn’t like it at all. Cyril Gan worked perfectly according to the plan for the first two rounds, hit-and-bounce. Then he started making mistakes. Ngannou was terrible in boxing, just terrible. Heavy, strained hands, everything forced, he smeared for a mile. Just a mile. In general, no technique in strikes. He was huge in a cage. Just a giant, one layer of muscle on top of another. He used his strength well, but… For me, this fight is somewhere near Ngannou – Lewis.
Both fighters could have been much more active. I think the reason was still a huge pressure. Gan’s corner raised a wave of hatred, a fighter intervened in it, this video came out. Ngannou had his own problems with Dana. All this has had an effect. Gan did not want to lose because of his coach, Ngannou wanted to win at all costs to make it clear to Dana – “Go ****”. And I was surprised that Dana did not come to the press conference. He might say something like, “That’s why I don’t pay these guys big money. Look at Ngannou – he had two of the worst fights in heavyweight history.”
Ngannou defeated Gan via unanimous decision at UFC 270 in Anaheim to make his first successful title defense.
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