Francis Ngannou
| Francis Ngannou | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 5, 1986 Batié, Cameroon |
| Other names | The Predator |
| Nationality | Cameroonian French |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 256.5 lb (116 kg; 18 st 5 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 83.0 in (211 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Paris, France |
| Team | MMA Factory |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 11 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 4 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Francis Ngannou (born September 5, 1986) is a Cameroonian-French mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is ranked the #6 heavyweight as of February 2017.
Ngannou was born and raised in the village of Batié, Cameroon. In a country where the average citizen makes about $1,320 per year, and primary education (up to age 12) wasn't free until 2000, Ngannou lived in poverty and had little formal education growing up. He did various odd jobs to make ends meet, until as an adult, he emigrated to Paris, France to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. After Ngannou reached Paris, he had no money, no friends and no place to live. After living homeless on the streets of Paris, he began training for free at an MMA gym in 2013. Being a fan of Mike Tyson, he was originally interested in learning how to box until his coach introduced him to the sport of MMA.
Reflecting on his journey across continents and his decision to become an MMA fighter, Ngannou said:
When I started, I had nothing. Nothing. I needed everything. But when you start [to earn money], you starting collecting things: I want this, I want this, I want that. The purpose is not collecting things, though. The purpose is to do something great. Finish the dream you started.
I want to help my family, first, of course, but then I want to give opportunity to children in my country like me who have a dream to become a doctor or something. If I reach my dream, it will give me the opportunity to help those in my country who have their own dreams and nothing else to fulfill them.
I want to give some opportunity for children like me who dream of this sport and don’t have an opportunity like me. The last time I was in Cameroon, I brought a lot of materials for boxing and MMA to open a gym. Now I just bought a big space to start the gym, as well. A lot of children now in Cameroon, because of me, they have a dream. They say, ‘I will be a champion in MMA. I will do boxing like Francis,’ because they saw me when I was young. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t have any opportunity. And today, they see me, and they are dreaming. They are thinking that something is possible. Even when they are so poor, something is possible in life. … It's not easy. It's so hard, but it's possible.
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Wikipedia