When Spain imprisoned ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou for illegally entering the country

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was once arrested for illegally crossing the Spanish border, as he looked to build a new life for himself in Europe.

As of today, 'The Predator' is considered by many to be one of the biggest stars in combat sports. His devastating knockout power in the UFC's octagon helped to catapult his popularity, before a deal with the PFL and a switch to boxing cemented himself as a fan favorite.

However, it wasn't just Ngannou's performances that helped him to earn his fans, it was also the journey he's been through to get where he is now.

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Francis Ngannou was born on Sept. 5 in Batié, Cameroon in 1986. He lived in poverty and had little to no education, eventually having to work in a sand quarry at just 10 years old. Ngannou then spent much of his teen years working odd jobs to make ends meet, eventually taking up boxing in his spare time.

After then spending the next few years learning what he could in Cameroon, a 26-year-old Ngannou made the bold decision to head to Paris, France with just the clothes on his back to try and make it a career. His journey to the French capital wasn't easy, however.

In 2013, having made his way to Morocco, Ngannou then planned to get to France by first heading through Spain. He then sailed to the country on a boat with other migrants, but was soon arrested after illegally crossing the border. He then spent two months inside of a Spanish cell before being released.

The PFL star once tweeted about the experience, sharing a photograph from the day he was released from jail. Check out the tweet here:

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Francis Ngannou drops passionate one-liner to define his MMA return

Francis Ngannou recently discussed his high profile return to MMA against Renan Ferreira. The bout will mark Ngannou's first taste of MMA action in over two years, following a stint in boxing.

'The Predator' is set to face Ferreira for the heavyweight title on Oct. 19 at the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ahead of their bout, Ngannou spoke to CBS Sports, to which he had a powerful message regarding his return. He said:

''Well, the story is to always pick yourself up and keep going no matter, that's the storyline for this fight.''

Catch Francis Ngannou's comments here (5:02):

About the author

Will began his tenure at Sportskeeda as an MMA writer over 2 years ago and has penned over 1800 pieces so far, including 35+ exclusives, which have garnered close to 5 million views.

Will graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications from Bournemouth University, where he was also a valued member of their communications team. His degree heavily focused on social media and writing, which eventually led him toward sports writing.

He turned into an MMA fan after witnessing Conor McGregor’s 13-second TKO win over Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in 2015. The Irishman sits at the top of his list of top-five MMA fighters of all time, which also includes world champions like Demetrious Johnson, Michael Bisping, Max Holloway, and Georges St-Pierre.

Will especially enjoys working on event days and feels his contribution to Sportskeeda’s UFC 300 coverage was one of the high points of his time with the organization. He ensures his articles are accurate by going through multiple sources, which also helps his writing be as informative as possible.

His interests away from work include football, gaming, live streaming, and listening to music.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi