UFC was not the goal why Francis Ngannou left Cameroon, reveals reaction upon receiving contract call

Francis Ngannou has briefly recounted his journey from Cameroon to France, one he embarked on to pursue his dream of becoming a boxing world champion. The Cameroon-born athlete has time and again highlighted that he emigrated to Europe to become a boxer and that MMA wasn't his first choice.

However, after ending up in Paris, France, he received better financial opportunities in MMA, which is why he chose that path instead of boxing.

As for Francis Ngannou's UFC career, he joined the MMA organization in December 2015 and captured the heavyweight title in March 2021. He ultimately parted ways with the promotion while still being the UFC heavyweight champion in January 2023.

Ngannou then signed with the PFL organization, bagging a contract that permits him to box as well. The KO artist notably made his boxing debut in October 2023, putting on an impressive showing but losing via split decision against boxing great Tyson Fury.

In a recent interview with DAZN, Ngannou harked back to the beginning of his combat sports odyssey. Suggesting that he wasn't happy about leaving Cameroon but did so solely to pursue his boxing ambitions, 'The Predator' stated:

"The only reason why I ever thought of leaving Cameroon was to go somewhere to find an opportunity to box. It was clear. I have never thought about anything else. And then, if it wasn't about boxing, I wouldn't leave my country at all. I wasn't excited about [leaving Cameroon] ... It wasn't like, 'Oh! I'm leaving! Let's go!' No. It was hard, like, 'Damn. I'm leaving. I have to.'"

Moreover, when asked about the phone call he received from the UFC when they were first attempting to sign him, Ngannou alluded that he'd taken up an MMA bout in Bahrain around May 2015. He indicated that although it wasn't boxing, his UFC run in MMA had similar elements to his boxing dream and helped him become a world champion.

The 37-year-old said:

"Well, at that time, I was having some fight. I even went to Bahrain; have a fight there. I think it was for $6,000 something. And I received the UFC call. And at least I get something to start off with. I always want to be world champion. This might not be boxing, but it's the combat sport. When I look back to the reason why I wanted to do boxing, I find the same element in MMA. It's the same thing."

Check out Francis Ngannou's comments below (2:51 and 5:09):

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Francis Ngannou eyes bouts with heavyweight superstar trio heading into 'Riyadh Season' fight

Presently, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (0-1 boxing) is scheduled to face former unified boxing heavyweight kingpin Anthony Joshua (27-3 boxing). Their highly-anticipated clash will transpire at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8, 2024, as part of the 'Riyadh Season' sports extravaganza.

It's believed that the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou winner would receive a title shot against the victor of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight title matchup.

In addition, at the 10:23-minute mark of his aforementioned DAZN interview, 'The Predator' implied that he intends to fight three longtime heavyweight boxing superstars -- namely Joshua, Fury (rematch), and Deontay Wilder.