Francis Ngannou – African Celebrities Who Inspire Us
Francis Ngannou is a Heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts Champion who hails from Cameroon. He was born in September, 1986 in Batié, a village located in the western province of Cameroon.
Raised in the same village, Francis Ngannou went through the roughest road in life due to financial constraints which even affected his education. He was just six years old when he went to live with extended relatives.
The precarious situation made him find himself on the path of life where he had to hustle and make ends meet as well as being independent at an early age. Hence, he took his debut job at the age of 10 in a sand quarry in his hometown, Batié to support himself.
Francis Ngannou’s interest in boxing began when he had an in-depth analysis about his father’s image, in the village at the time and realised he could turn his father’s reputation as a street fighter into something positive by pursuing a job in boxing.
In the beginning of his intended career path as a boxer, his family were somehow ambivalent about it but he stood on firm grounds to pursue his dream.
He started engaging in trainings with a small club in Douala city, Cameroon at age 22. His strong and eminent passion for boxing made him auctioned all that he owned to buy his sports outfits and equipment to help fulfil his vision as an internationally recognised boxer.
He decided to migrate to France’s capital Paris, to pursue professional boxing at the age of 26. Didier Carmont who was ready to help him reach his full potential.
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He was advised by Carmont to rather venture into mixed martial art despite his original interest in boxing as a fan of Mike Tyson.
He then equipped himself with the skills and in August 2013 he began fighting for free under Fernand Lopez Owonyebe at a gym known as the MMA Factory.
Francis Ngannou was successful in almost all his fights when he started fighting as MMA in France.
His success earned him other regional promotions in Europe as well and in 2015, he made his professional debut under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the U.S which is the world’s largest MMA league.
Francis Ngannou is one of the celebrities who give back to his community through his foundation ‘Francis Ngannou Foundation‘ helps the less privileged to make their dreams a reality.
‘The Francis Ngannou Foundation is to provide the children of Cameroon with the skills to expand their horizons and realize their dreams’~ Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou set to fight with Stipe Miocic in a months time on ESPN PLUS
Photo Credit: Francis Ngannou
