From a Cameroon sand quarry to a UFC heavyweight title shot, Francis Ngannou's story is only just beginning
Heavyweight title contender speaks to James Edwards about why his quest to top the UFC stems from his desire to inspire the next generation back in his homeland
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Your support makes all the difference.The countdown to UFC 220 is well and truly underway and in the main event, the UFC heavyweight title will be on the line when the champion Stipe Miocic takes on the man with the hardest punch ever scientifically measured, Francis Ngannou.
Miocic (17-2) won the title back in May 2016 when he defeated Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil. Since then, Miocic has successfully defended the title twice with wins against Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos both coming by way of first-round knockout. The champion has looked imperious since taking the title, but in his way now stands a challenger like no other he's ever seen before.
Ngannou (11-1) has had one of the fastest rises to a title fight in UFC history and only started training MMA back in August 2013 when he met his coach Fernand Lopez after emigrating to Paris, France.
Born in Batie, Cameroon in 1986, Ngannou had a very challenging upbringing and was forced to work in a sand quarry at the age of just 12 years old to earn what little money he could for his family.
Though it may sound cliché, Ngannou's story is a genuine example of a man who has gone from 'rags to riches,' but as far he's concerned, his story has only really just begun. Ngannou's aim at UFC 220 isn't just to win the UFC heavyweight title, but to inspire the young people back in his home country of Cameroon that anything is possible.
Speaking last weekend at the MMA Factory in Paris where he took his first MMA training session just over four years ago, Ngannou described what it was like growing up in Cameroon and the challenges that the young people of his home nation face from the day they're born.
"Inspiring people, that is something that is very important for me," Ngannou said. "Why!? Because where I'm from, the problem for the young people there is hope, they don't have hope. They say they've felt like this before they were born, before they've even seen the light or the sky for the first time in their life. They just feel like everything is over for them.
"I had this problem when I was there and dreaming big. I had that problem because people around there, they don't allow themselves to dream. If you're different and do have big dreams, someone will come along and say it's wrong."
Ngannou has arguably already surpassed what many believe to be possible with five wins and five finishes already in his UFC career. At UFC 220, he will get the opportunity to not only to claim the title of being the "baddest man on the planet," but also to further provide light and hope for the people of Cameroon and make the young people believe that they can dream big and achieve their potential.
"Today, I start to see how things are changing and I'm starting to see people believe and trust in themselves," Ngannou said. "They now believe something is possible. It doesn't matter where you're from. You can believe something and you can try to give it all and become something.
"When I see things are changing, that is what I really want to bring, to increase that and make it bigger and bigger."
The UFC heavyweight title is just one more win away, but already Ngannou's arguably achieved something much greater.
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