LAS VEGAS – It’s been a rough week for the MMA community, which is trying to power through the global coronavirus pandemic in preparation for upcoming fights.
Xtreme Couture, one of the biggest gyms in the sport, shut down Sunday and has given only limited access to members.
But with numerous fighters preparing for fights that have either been postponed or are still scheduled tentatively, head coach Eric Nicksick is trying to maintain some sort of normalcy in the difficult period.
“As of right now, (we’re) trying to calm a lot of the members down and calm a lot of the coaches and everyone else,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “This is all of our livelihoods, and I understand that. I guess the one saving grace is that we’re all on the same boat, so we’re just trying to figure this out. It’s new to everybody, and really just take care of one another right now.”
Someone like Puna Soriano still is scheduled to compete on the May 2 UFC card in Oklahoma City that hasn’t been postponed yet. So Nicksick said pro fighters are still coming in to train in accordance with the guideline of no more than 10 people at the gym.
“What we thought was the best-case scenario was – so Puna, for example, he has a fight in May. I told Puna to find a training partner that might also have a fight, or somebody that’s your size, or kind of a training buddy. And then Puna and Montel (Williams Jr.) were in today. They were getting their work in.
“If coach Nate (Petit) or myself are in there to kind of supervise or help or hold pads, it keeps everything at a minimum and then those guys are responsible for cleaning up prior to getting in here, washing their hands, cleaning themselves and then cleaning up after themselves when they leave.”
Francis Ngannou, who’s been itching to fight, had his UFC on ESPN 8 contest with Jairzinho Rozenstruik scheduled for March 28 postponed to a later date. Another Xtreme Couture fighter, Cody Stamann, also was supposed to fight on that card. But Nicksick said all they can do right now is stay ready.
“Obviously, me and Francis, we had an eight-week camp together, and Cody Stamann as well – Cody’s with coach Eddie. We talked about all this stuff,” Nicksick said. “How do we stay sharp? We don’t know what’s going to happen. From my understanding, the word ‘postponed’ has been for those fights, not ‘canceled.’ So I try to keep these guys’ mindset ready where it’s like we might fight, but we just don’t know when. But again, it’s hard.
“All I said to Francis was, ‘Man, no one can take away the hard work we put in for these next eight weeks. We’re going to be able to show that at some point. Just know that it wasn’t all for naught.”
Xtreme Couture's Eric Nicksick on how coronavirus shutdown is affecting fighters