Eric Nicksick was just as shocked as everyone else when he was made aware that the next title fight in the UFC’s heavyweight division would not involve his pupil Francis Ngannou.
On Monday, MMA Fighting confirmed an initial report from ESPN that Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane will compete for an interim title in the main event of UFC 265. The card takes place in Lewis’ hometown of Houston at the Toyota Center on Aug. 7.
Nicksick and Ngannou were already getting their preparations in place to face Lewis later on this year and the Xtreme Couture coach gave his reaction to the news.