Francis Ngannou is back in the gym, but still dealing with the immense tragedy of the death of his 15-month-old son Kobe in April.

The former UFC Heavyweight champion returned to training at Xtreme Couture recently, although he hasn’t made any public statement regarding his career. Ngannou remains signed to PFL and expected to face Renan Ferreira in his debut. He also has options available to him in boxing after past matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou’s longtime head coach and friend Eric Nicksick revealed that, more than anything, it’s just good to have “The Predator” back in the gym again.

“He’s healing,” Nicksick said of Ngannou on The MMA Hour. “That’s the best I can say. He’s healing. You’re seeing the smile back on his face. You’re seeing the banter. He’s back in the gym talking trash to [Sean] Strickland and everybody around the room. That’s the most important thing. But all the while, you know there’s a lot of healing going on inside. Every once in a while he’ll have that moment where a vulnerability [shows itself].”