Francis Ngannou: An MMA Champion's journey through poverty and perseverance

euronews (in English)

From a difficult childhood in Cameroon to becoming one of the best combat sports champions of his time, Francis Ngannou holds the record of 18 MMA fight wins.

Transcript

00:00Francis Ngannou is on record for having one of the hardest punches in the world.

00:06But quite often, the world punched him back.

00:09His unbelievable story starts from very humble beginnings in a remote village in Cameroon.

00:15Francis has overcome incredible odds working in a sand mine in age 9,

00:20leaving his family behind to make a death-defying crossing into Europe in his 20s

00:24and eventually becoming a combat sports world champion in his 30s.

00:28We've come to Dubai to meet him.

00:31He was all about boxing. Everything that I was doing was to fulfill this dream,

00:35even though he seemed, like, irrational.

00:38Less than a year ago, Francis' 15-month-old son tragically passed away.

00:43Just six months later, the champion returned to the ring to honor his late child.

00:47Now, Francis Ngannou is leading the 2025 launch of the Professional Fighters League in Africa

00:53to give back to the continent he's from.

00:58This is the baddest man on the planet.

01:02Yeah, yeah.

01:03Thank you, Francis.

01:04How are you?

01:05Good.

01:06This is what it looks like to face Francis Ngannou.

01:08I could take you.

01:11Let's take it to the ring.

01:14Francis, you had an incredibly difficult childhood in Cameroon.

01:17Your parents divorced when you were very young.

01:19You started working in a sand mine at the age of 9.

01:22Yet, by the age of 13, you already decided that you were going to become a professional boxer.

01:27What is it about the early stage of your life that led you to become the man you are today?

01:32The first thing that I know, that I love, was about, like, fighting, you know, action, movie actions, everything that has action.

01:39I never wanted to be in the sand mine.

01:41It wasn't meant for kids and basically not at that age.

01:45Matter of fact, my brother and I, we were the only kids working in the sand mine because it's a very physical job.

01:51I kind of, like, see my childhood pass by, like, I'm missing it, you know, because we had to work.

01:59We had to go to the sand quarry.

02:01And then at 22, you moved to Douala.

02:04And then by 26, you made that difficult decision, I'm imagining, to move across the continent.

02:10Tell me about that journey and then getting yourself to Europe.

02:13At the time, he was all about boxing.

02:16Everything that I was doing was to fulfill this dream, even though he seemed, like, irrational.

02:23But I just had a passion.

02:25And I wasn't convinced that I was going to make it.

02:29I didn't even know if I was good or not.

02:32And then Douala, I was stuck.

02:34I'm like, okay, enough, it's enough.

02:35I'm going to leave this country.

02:37I'm going to go after my dream.

02:40Where?

02:41I don't know.

02:42Europe was the next thing that was possible.

02:45Because I have heard that there is a people that migrate to Europe.

02:50It took me 14 months.

02:51In the course of leaving Cameroon through maybe getting to Morocco, like, you learn a lot about migration.

02:58Here was a lot of things you have to go through in the process because it's a very different life.

03:05You know, like, there is no law.

03:08And then you, there is no right.

03:11You have no right.

03:12But you have to live like this for months in the forest.

03:15You know?

03:16We're looking for the right spot, for the right moment.

03:20And then maybe sometime you try and it doesn't work.

03:22You get caught.

03:23Maybe you get sent back in the desert.

03:25Then you finally made it to Paris, where you were homeless, but still walked right into a boxing gym.

03:31Somewhere along the way, you were introduced to mixed martial arts.

03:34And then this journey began.

03:37I was very excited to start training.

03:40Like, here was the time.

03:41I felt like this was the time for my dream.

03:44The time that I have been waiting for.

03:46I have trained boxing in Cameroon a little bit.

03:50So my boxing wasn't that bad.

03:52At least, like, confident enough to look myself and look the other guy in front of me.

03:57And believe that, yeah, I might have less skill than him.

04:01Or less experience.

04:03But I'm a man.

04:05I can fight.

04:06You know, even if I have never done a combat sport in my life, I'm not just giving up.

04:11So that's how I have to build my confidence.

04:13Because the skill, the experience wasn't there.

04:15What's your most memorable fight?

04:17I think all of them, at the end of the day, is a good experience.

04:21It's a good memory.

04:23In 2021, like, when I became a world champion, you know, I was there.

04:28Because for me, it was always, like, my way of taking a revenge over life.

04:33But I was there and I didn't feel it as I thought it would be.

04:38You know, I'm like, okay, I'm a world champion.

04:42Then what? What next?

04:43So that's when you kind of, like, realize that it's not about the destination.

04:49It's about the process.

04:51It's not the one that you achieve.

04:53It's what drives you and get you to those achievements.

04:57I just want to say, please, remember my son.

05:00Remember my son, Kobe.

05:02Francis, you've overcome incredible hurdles in your life.

05:06But nothing can prepare you for every parent's worst nightmare.

05:09You tragically lost your 15-month-old son recently

05:12and dedicated your victory at your Professional Fighters League Battle of the Giants debut to Kobe.

05:19How do you hope to continue to carry on his legacy?

05:22Well, what I think I will do is just what I'm doing.

05:27Like, trying to keep his memory alive.

05:30Trying to make his short passage on Earth worth it, you know, memorable.

05:38And that's all what I can do.

05:41The predator!

05:47Francis, you're the chair of the PFL's expansion into Africa.

05:50How important is it for you to give opportunities for other African fighters on the continent

05:55for you to give back to your home country?

05:57So the whole ecosystem was missing.

05:59And I grew up with this dream of having some good Samaritan that comes around in the village and build a gym.

06:07And over the time, I realized that building a gym in that environment wasn't enough.

06:12So that's why I went from the idea of just having a gym in the village to make a foundation.

06:19You know, the kid that comes there maybe sometime will just have a health issue and his parents cannot bring him to the hospital.

06:28So us as a foundation, since he's a member of a community, we can help in that regard.

06:35So the idea was to make, build a community.

06:40A place that kids like me can feel like he belong, you know, can feel important somewhere.

06:47Considering all you've accomplished in the ring, in combat sports, what do you want your legacy to be?

06:53How do you want people to remember Francis Ngannou?

06:56One thing that I want to be, even for myself, I always make it a very important one, is like not to give up.

07:04So yeah, maybe my legacy is like giving my best.

07:09And finally, Francis, the one word that I hear from you over and over again is freedom.

07:16Freedom to choose your own career path, freedom from authorities in the detention center, freedom to choose your own path in MMA, in boxing.

07:26What does freedom mean to you?

07:28I don't like to feel trapped. Just the idea of feeling trapped was very scary to me.

07:38Even when I was young, one of the reasons why I had to be disciplined was because I really don't like to be locked up.

07:45So yes, freedom for me means a lot.

07:49I'm glad you're free, we're free. Thank you so much for joining us on The Dialogue, Francis.

07:54Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

07:55Appreciate you.

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