From Sand Quarry to Heavyweight Title Fight- The Fairytale Journey of Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou is rightfully called “the scariest heavyweight” on the UFC roster. The Cameroonian-French fighter has amassed victories over some of the best contenders in the heavyweight division. Ironically, Ngannou was never a life long martial artist. So, how did he make it to the UFC?

Francis Ngannou was born in Cameroon where he lived in poor conditions. At the tender age of six, his parents got divorced. Unsure of his future, Ngannou was tempted to join the local gangs. But, he resisted the urge, as he did not want to have a bad reputation like his father.

Ngannou would soon find himself working on a Cameroonian sand quarry to make ends meet. In an interview with Adam Catterall of BT Sport Francis said, “I have been through a lot, I have been through hell.”

Francis Ngannou’s journey into the unknown

At the age of 26, he left his house and decided to travel to Europe for better opportunities. After a 14 month-long journey, he landed in France. Originally, Ngannou wanted to pursue boxing. However, on the advice of his coach, he decided to join MMA to make some quick bucks.

In the early stages of his career, Ngannou fought in MMA for fun. But, when he received a UFC contract, he took the opportunity seriously. He ran through his competition and went on a 6 fight winning streak in the UFC. His most impressive knockout of Alistair Overeem will go down as one of the scariest KO of all time in the company’s history.

Ultimately, he faced the champion, Stipe Miocic. The fight itself was an eye-opener, as Ngannou failed to dethrone Miocic. The overconfidence and the urge of knocking out Miocic early yielded drastic results for the challenger. He was tagged multiple times in the fight and was taken down at will. As expected, he lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Ngannou was not the same man after his fight with Miocic, and this showed in his next fight. The ‘Predator’ took on the American – Dereck Lewis in his next bout. What was expected to be the most violent fight in the heavyweight division, turned out to be the most boring fight in the UFC. He was scared to engage and Lewis had problems with his back. The result? Only 31 strikes were thrown during the entirety of the match.

Francis Ngannou makes a statement

However, he made a stellar comeback in his next match against Curtis Blaydes and proved his mettle. Moreover, in his next fight, Ngannou pulled off an upset when he stopped heavyweight legend, Cain Velasquez in the first round.

His last bout was against Junior dos Santos, in which he pummeled ‘JDS’ in the first round. With no opponent wanting to fight him, Ngannou has been out of competition for over 10 months. Although the UFC is targeting a fight with Jarzinho Rozenstruik on May 9, the current global scenario is volatile. And anything can happen.

A win over Rozenstruik will put Ngannou in title contention once again.

Do you believe that Francis Ngannou will be the UFC heavyweight champion in the future?