From African sand mines to UFC gold to million-dollar boxing matches: The incredible story of Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou is set to face Anthony Joshua this evening. Their bout is just the second professional boxing match of 'The Predator's' career, marking his rise as a true star in the combat sports world. While it now seems a distant memory, there was once a time when Ngannou's life was marred by severe poverty.
Instead of fighting for championship gold and life-changing wealth, he fought for survival. There was neither glitz nor glamor, only the sand mines of his village. It was one of many hurdles that Ngannou was forced to overcome on his journey to the zenith of professional fighting.
The many hardships he has endured instilled in him a will stronger than he even knew, but nothing came easily to 'The Predator,' which is why remains the author of MMA's most compelling Cinderella story.
The humble beginnings of Francis Ngannou
Born in Batié, a small town in western Cameroon, Francis Ngannou came into the world at the bottom of the social strata. His hometown was one of little renown, consisting of rolling hills, soil prone to erosion, and clusters of informal houses built atop clay foundations by a population of less than 50,000.
Batié's only distinguishing features were, and continue to be, its sand quarries. Much of Ngannou's early childhood is shrouded in mystery, but by the age of six, he was under the lone guidance of his mother, from whom his father had separated.
With his mother now shouldering the bread-winning responsibilities of the household, Ngannou, still a mere child, walked to school alone, trekking along miles of dry sand under the inescapable eye of the African sun. Unfortunately, even this was beyond his mother's means.
Before long, a young Ngannou was sent to live with his aunt, and by age 10, the financial constraints of the household had grown unbearable for even her. Left with no other choice, Ngannou found work in the sand quarry. To say it was harsh would be an understatement.
Ngannou shoveled sand into trucks throughout the day, a task taxing for even a grown man, let alone a child. Yet, extremes of circumstance tend to produce men of extremes, and Ngannou's physical potential exploded in response to the harsh demands of manual labor.
For seven years, he worked tirelessly, making pennies while turning away recruiters from local gangs who sought to coax him into their ranks. He refused, for he was not like his father, a man whose fearsome reputation was built off street-fighting. Ngannou dreamed of something more.
He wanted to box, to be like his hero, Mike Tyson.
The dark years of the Francis Ngannou saga
To become a boxer, Ngannou had to first leave Cameroon. There were no world championships to be won on home soil, no life-changing sums of money. But it wasn't an easy decision. Ngannou recognized the risks and dangers he'd be subjecting himself to.
Nevertheless, he steeled himself for the journey ahead. Initially, things were easy. He first traveled to Nigeria, which shared an open border with Cameroon, so he didn't need a VISA to enter the country. Alas, his journey only grew more difficult as he came upon Niger, whose border was not as easy to cross.
Now, Ngannou was in need of a VISA. With no alternative, he was forced to bribe border patrol officers and local law enforcement. This, however, was nothing compared to the near-fatal journey he endured when he next headed to Algeria, through which the Sahara Desert ran.
Stuffed into the back of a truck with 25 other migrants, Ngannou braved the sweltering desert heat, drinking water with bits of what he described as 'dead animals' floating in it. Alas, he was short of options, and he had already committed to his dream.
At the Algerian border, he again found himself in desperate need of a VISA. Not only did he not have one, he also had no money with which to bribe border patrol officers. Fortunately, a plan had already been put in place. Ngannou had been given a fake Malian ID card, as Malian citizens were allowed entry without VISAs.
Upon entering Algeria, he traveled to Morocco, where the true depth of his circumstances were revealed. Due to its proximity to Spain, it was his only chance, and he made the most of it. He didn't need to actually set foot on the European continent, only enter Spanish territory on one of the two islands bordered by Morocco.
Those islands were Ceuta and Melilla. Faced with the prospect of having to climb over fences of barbed wire while evading Spanish border patrol, Ngannou opted for a more harrowing alternative; using an inflatable raft in the ocean to make his way to any territory where Morocco was within touching distance of Spain.
From there, he'd seek asylum as a refugee. But he failed miserably, attempting so multiple times for an entire year, to no avail. Ngannou sank to rock bottom, at some point finding himself in a Moroccan forest, fighting for scraps of rotten food, hoping to claim something for himself before the rats did.
Still, he kept trying. Eventually, after a 14-month long journey, he succeeded in entering Spanish waters. Success, however, came in the form of a prison stint for illegally crossing the border. After two months behind bars, Ngannou learned that he could not be deported due to his false documentation, so he stayed in Europe.
Due to his Cameroonian heritage, Ngannou's affinity for the French language convinced him to head to France, where he settled in the streets of Paris.
Francis Ngannou's ascension from an MMA world champion to boxing superstar
Finally, Francis Ngannou was on European soil, and in a country more familiar to him than any other, at least linguistically. But he had no money, nor a palce to call his own. The terror of illegal immigration had been replaced by the dangers of homelessness. But it didn't matter, not to him.
Ngannou roamed the Parisian streets before making his way into a boxing gym where he found a sympathetic and empathetic ear in Didier Carmont, a coach. It was not Carmont's first time hearing of such circumstances, so he subsequently convinced the gym to allow Ngannou to train at no cost.
He gave Ngannou clothes, money, a home, and introduced him to MMA and eventually Fernand Lopez, who became his coach at the MMA Factory. Blessed with nuclear power in every limb, Ngannou took to the sport quickly, and exceeded expectations.
He was in his late twenties with no formal background in any martial art or combat sport, but it hardly mattered. He was a freakish athlete with more determination than anyone could measure, and a natural aptitude for fighting that enabled unnervingly fast improvement.
After success in the European regional scene, Ngannou signed with the UFC. 'The Predator,' as he became known, annihilated his first six UFC opponents, including an unbeaten Curtis Blaydes, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, and multi-promotion world champion Alistair Overeem.
Along the way, his knockouts became a spectacle, and the promotion bought into the hype. Unfortunately, so did Ngannou. He had the touch of death and began believing it was all he needed. Despite his rapid success, he was still green, and a title fight against Stipe Miocic exposed his limitations in spades.
He struggled to stop Miocic's wrestling, overextended on his punches, gassed out badly, and was outboxed by the then heavyweight champion. It was a humbling loss, and it nearly broke him. In his next fight, he took on Derrick Lewis, another fearsome knockout artist.
However, the bout failed to produce the fireworks expected of it, and Ngannou found himself in an unenviable position. He needed to regain some confidence, so he rebounded against a familiar foe, someone he knew he could beat, someone he had already TKO'd; Blaydes. And as he had before, he TKO'd him.
Afterward, he had a contentious split with his coach, Lopez, and joined a new gym before following his TKO over Blaydes by helming a legendary win streak that saw him knock out two former heavyweight champions in Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, and flatlining a then undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Of those four wins, three were sub-minute knockouts, and he exceeded his octagon excellence in a title rematch with Miocic. Ngannou didn't just knock him out with the first punch, he countered his wrestling, took Miocic down with a trip, outstruck him, dropped him, then knocked him unconscious in round two.
Check out Francis Ngannou knocking out Stipe Miocic:
UFC 260 was his crowning moment, as he became the promotion's heavyweight champion. A matchup with Jon Jones was teased, but the UFC's failure to meet both fighters' demands kept the bout at bay. Thereafter, 'The Predator' faced former teammate and the then interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane.
The Frenchman would be the third undefeated foe Ngannou had faced in his career. The buildup to their bout was unusual, defined more by the personal enmity between Ngannou and his former coach, Lopez, instead of anything regarding Gane.
Ahead of the matchup, Ngannou tore torn his MCL and damaged his ACL; important knee ligaments. So come fight night, his movement was limited. He could not impose himself as he normally does, but dug deep to outwrestle Gane en route to a unanimous decision win for his first successful title defense.
His greatest bout, however, would be with the UFC. He was their heavyweight champion, but was displeased with his contract. It wasn't just money he wanted, he wanted healthcare for the fighters, a representative at the negotiations table, the freedom to box, and more. The UFC refused, and the two parties parted ways.
With no promotion to call his own, much was made about Ngannou's ego, with claims that he was difficult to work with and had overestimated his value. This only intensified after reported failures to come to terms with BKFC and ONE Championship. But little did everyone know, Ngannou had already made history.
He had signed a monster contract with the PFL that broke down doors on what promotions are willing to offer their fighters. Among the concessions he was given was equity, an advisory position, and the freedom to box, which he did by taking on undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The bout was preceded by a near-universal dismissal of Ngannou's chances against Fury. Many, in fact, treated it as a moral victory, asserting that Ngannou would get a massive payday and nothing more. Instead, he shocked the world with a star-making performance.
Check out Francis Ngannou knocking down Tyson Fury:
He dropped Fury and kept pace with him en route to a split-decision loss. While Fury's hand was raised in victory, the entire combat sports world labeled the result a robbery, and Ngannou's star power heightened in the face of perceived injustice. Following his war with Fury, he is now set to face another Englishman.
This evening, 'The Predator' faces Anthony Joshua in a make-or-break bout that will either reshape the landscape of heavyweight boxing or see yet another boxer defeat an MMA fighter. But at this point, even Ngannou's greatest detractors know better than to count him out.