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UFC Heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou has taken to his official social media account to share an inspirational story of how he went from sleeping rough to fighting in the UFC.
Francis Ngannou posted a photograph of himself, with a statement, as The Predator addressed a challenging phase in his life back in the day.
MMA superstar Francis Ngannou sent out a pair of tweets that read as follows –
“#throwbackthursday — This was in December 2012 I was still in Tangier, Morocco trying to find my way out to Europe. I was sleeping outside in the woods and I had nothing but the clothes I am wearing here. But I had dreams and confidence. (1/2)”
“Those have been my greatest assets which led me from where i was 8 years ago to where I'm today. Never let anyone take your dreams and confidence from you or tell you you can’t make it or you couldn’t make it without them. (2/2)”
Francis Ngannou comes from humble origins
Francis Ngannou was born and raised in Cameroon, Africa. His father was a known street fighter, but The Predator usually refrained from engaging in street fights.
Ngannou also steered clear of gang activities in his areas, and he instead focused on pursuing his dream of becoming a professional boxer.
He trained to become a professional boxer in his early twenties but stopped training for a few years due to an illness. Ngannou also had to work odd jobs to make ends meet.
Nevertheless, it was at the age of 26 that Ngannou made up his mind that he would go to Paris, France, to become a professional boxer. He had been a fan of Mike Tyson and was looking to follow in the legend's footsteps and pursue glory in the realm of professional boxing.
Ngannou had to face several challenges during the entire process of moving from Cameroon to France. In fact, as noted in the tweets he’s now sent out, The Predator even had to sleep in the woods at one point in time.
When he finally made it to Paris The Predator was once again confronted with a new set of challenges. The Cameroonian immigrant didn’t have any friends in Paris, nor did he have any money.
Francis Ngannou didn’t have a place of accommodation either, but thankfully, MMA coach Didier Carmont started training him free of cost and also helped The Predator get a place to live.
Francis Ngannou has his sights set on the UFC heavyweight title
Francis Ngannou eventually transitioned from boxing to MMA training. He went on to achieve tremendous success in the sport of MMA and even challenged for the UFC Heavyweight title back in 2018, losing via unanimous decision to Stipe Miocic.
The Predator is presently on a four-fight winning streak and is all set to once again face Stipe Miocic for the latter’s UFC Heavyweight title. The Francis Ngannou vs. Stipe Miocic UFC Heavyweight title matchup is likely to take place in early 2021.
