Francis Ngannou didn’t start training martial arts until he was 26. The PFL heavyweight has one of the most inspiring and beating-the-odds stories in all of sports, which began in the impoverished African country of Cameroon. His family didn’t have much money, which drove Ngannou to start working in nearby sand mines at the age of ten.

By the time he was 26, the Cameroonian determined to chase his childhood dream of becoming a fighter. But for that, he had to accomplish something immense- move to Europe and do so with virtually no money. And what a hard journey it was. He made it from Cameroon to Morocco on the northern tip of Africa after a grueling trek, mostly on foot. But then he faced another massive challenge- he had to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. And that turned out to be even more challenging, as the former UFC heavyweight champion revealed in a PFL documentary.

“The crossing from Morocco to Spain, that was the toughest one. It took me almost one year, multiple attempts- six attempts in the ocean and then four attempts on the fences [to get to Europe]… So I finally made it the seventh time, in the seventh attempt in the ocean,” he said.

But that is not where his ordeal ended. The first thing that happened to Ngannou upon making it to Europe was incarceration. Since he had crossed the border illegally, the Spanish authorities jailed ‘The Predator’ for two months. And when Ngannou finally did make it to Paris, he was penniless, but fortunately found a helpful boxing trainer who allowed him to live at the gym. The rest as they say is history. Ten years later he had become the heavyweight champion in the biggest combat sports promotion in the world. And now he is aiming to repeat this feat, but not in the UFC.

Francis Ngannou to take on Rennan Ferreira on PFL debut

Francis Ngannou left the UFC last year on acrimonious terms. And surprisingly, the Cameroonian had no other offers when he left the UFC. With his money running out and no real alternative prospects, Ngannou would reveal in an interview that he had made peace with going back to Africa and becoming a farmer there.

It was at this decisive time that the PFL approached Ngannou and offered him favorable terms that the UFC had flatly refused. And Ngannou will return the favor to the Donn Davis-founded promotion starting October 19. After being out of the cage for over a year first because of a knee injury and then to box the two biggest boxers in the world, ‘The Predator’ will make his PFL debut on the PFL: Battle of the Giants PPV card next weekend.

And his opponent is the perfect candidate to make this momentous occasion for the UFC’s biggest competitor very special. After all, Ferreira, the 2023 PFL heavyweight champion is like Ngannou, a physical specimen. In addition, he is just as much a knockout artist as the legendary Cameroonian, which has made their matchup such an electrifying one. What are your predictions for Ngannou-Ferreira?