How did Francis Ngannou get to France?

Francis Zavier Ngannou is an MMA fighter from Cameroon and France. He was the former Heavyweight Champion at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Ngannou was born on September 5, 1986, in Batie, Cameroon. He had a difficult childhood and wanted a better future for himself. He decided to leave Cameroon at the age of 26 and, after much hardships, ultimately reached France. In France, he trained to become an MMA fighter.

Ngannou made his UFC debut at UFC on Fox: Dos Anjos vs Cowboy 2 on December 19, 2015, against Luis Henrique. He defeated Henrique via a punch leading to KO/TKO in 2 minutes 53 seconds during Round 2. Besides being the UFC Heavyweight Champion, he also won Performance of the Night 6 times. His final UFC fight was against Ciryl Gane for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 270: Ngannou vs Gane on January 22, 2022. He won the fight via unanimous decision at 5 minutes during Round 5. He quit the organization and also vacated his UFC Heavyweight Championship after this fight. So far in his professional MMA career, Ngannou has won 17 fights (12 by knockout, 4 by submission, and 1 by decision) and has lost 3 fights by decision. He made his boxing debut against WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28, 2023. Unfortunately, after 10 closely contested rounds, Ngannou lost by split decision. Ngannou also lost against Anthony Joshua in his next fight via a KO in the second round.

Francis Ngannou Journey to France

Francis Ngannou had a very difficult time getting to France. He wanted to improve his condition and hence left Cameroon at 26 years old. He had to cross through Nigeria on foot and by rides and slept wherever he could. He was scared to cross the Sahara Desert. However, to do that, he had to seek the help of smugglers. They loaded him up on the back of a truck along with 24 others.

He arrived in Morocco after crossing Niger and Algeria and went to Nador, the city that is the border between Spain and Morocco. He tried to cross the border by climbing over the barbed wire or by crossing the Mediterranean in a dinghy without knowing how to swim. However, he was prevented from doing so six times by the Moroccan forces. He was penalized and was either placed in jail or left in the Sahara Desert. Despite this, he studied the best way to cross the border in internet cafes by avoiding the Moroccan police and sleeping in the forests.

He eventually made it to Spain on his seventh try a year after leaving Cameroon. Despite this, he had to spend two months in a migrant detention facility. Eventually, he was released and given refugee status, as there was no repatriation agreement between Spain and Cameroon. From Spain, Ngannou made it to France.

Francis Ngannou Experience in France

From Spain, Francis Ngannou made his way to France. He was homeless and without proper papers. He found a garage that he slept in. He also started searching for a gym that would teach him boxing.

Eventually, he found Francis Cramont, who introduced him to Fernand Lopez. Lopez inspired him to try out MMA and allowed him to train in MMA and sleep in his gym at the MMA Factory free of cost. This started his journey towards becoming one of the best MMA fighters in the world.

Where did Francis Ngannou compete before coming to the UFC?

Francis Ngannou had competed in several MMA organizations in Europe and Asia before coming to the UFC. These are:

• 100% Fight - Paris, France.

• Strength & Honor Championships - Belgium.

• KHK MMA - The Kingdom of Bahrain.

The victories in all these organizations paved the way for Francis Ngannou to eventually make his debut in the UFC. He also achieved a MMA record of 5-1 before coming to the UFC.