Francis Ngannou is one of the biggest names in the UFC but his journey into MMA wasn’t easy
UFC Heavyweight title contender, Francis Ngannou, is one of the most popular stars in the promotion.
The 34-year-old grew up in poverty, saw his parents get divorced at the age of six and was working in a sand quarry at the age of 12.
He was also asked to join several gangs but decided to stay positive and pick up boxing at a young age.
However, things started to improve after he moved to Paris, France, at the age of 26. He had started to pursue boxing professionally, despite being homeless on the streets of the French capital.
Ngannou has never shied away from his roots and shared a reminder of what all he had undergone to reach this level.
The 34-year-old posted a picture from 2012 when he was in Morocco and sleeping in the woods. Ngannou added that he only had the clothes he was wearing but his mentality kept pushing him:
Those have been my greatest assets which led me from where i was 8 years ago to where I'm today. Never let anyone take your dreams and confidence from you or tell you you can’t make it or you couldn’t make it without them. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/cSeYMAQS3A
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) December 3, 2020
Ngannou added that anything can be achieved if you followed your dreams, even if others didn’t believe in you.
The 34-year-old has done a lot over the years and could still become the UFC Champion. However, there is one man standing in his way.
Jones moves up
After Daniel Cormier retired from the UFC, all eyes were on Ngannou taking up the mantle and fighting Stipe Miocic for the title.
However, the champion, Miocic, isn’t interested in fighting Ngannou. The pair had met at UFC 220 but Ngannou lost that title clash.
He then lost to Derrick Lewis too and those are his only losses in the UFC. Ngannou has won his last four fights but Jon Jones is the man that could be a problem for the 34-year-old.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight champion vacated his gold to move up a division. He is considered as one of the greatest MMA athletes of all-time and the UFC could set him up against Miocic next.
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