Mixing
UFC star Francis Ngannou went from sleeping on the streets of Paris to fighting in the UFC
7th July 2018,
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FRANCIS Ngannou was homeless and used to sleep on the streets of Paris with no money - fast forward five years and he is one of the top heavyweight UFC fighters in the world.
The Cameroonian fighter will face Derrick Lewis at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas at UFC 226.
Ngannou left Cameroon five years and moved to the French capital where he began training in MMA by chance.
In an exclusive interview with Sun Sport, he said: “I never really wanted to become an MMA fighter.
“I went to France five years ago and at that time I wanted to be a boxer because I did a little bit of boxing at home (Cameroon).
“For me I just started in MMA for fun. I had time to train so I thought why not train MMA as well.”
He added: “And then things went very fast and they start asking did I want to fight. And I said ‘Yes let’s do it’
“I didn’t realise how fast it was going until the coach said to me ‘We’ve gotten an UFC contract for you.’
Ngannou who has 11 wins and two loses, said it was difficult for him when he first moved from the African nation to Paris because he didn’t know anybody.
He said: “It was difficult because I didn’t know anybody in France, I didn’t have any money so I was sleeping on the streets without money and trying to survive like that and that was difficult.”
In a recent Instagram post Ngannou praised a man called Didier Carmont who helped him when he first arrived in Paris.
In the touching post he said: “5 years ago, I arrived in Paris. I walked in a boxing gym and met this man who was very nice and compassionate towards my situation.
“He took me under his wing. And game me money to help out with my current situation.
“He gave me my first apartment in Paris when I was homeless and provided as done for me.”
Ngannou also praised the people of Batie - the village in Cameroon where he grew up for the support they have given him.
He said: “When I went back after my fight, I was in Cameroon and I was very upset they were happy and they were very proud of me.
“They were like ‘Yeah man well done - six years ago with no opportunity and then you found your way.’”
The 31-year old said he was so focused on his training - he had no time to watch the World Cup but he said he was rooting for France.
Speaking about his upcoming bout with Derrick Lewis, he said: “He talks a lot of shit but as a fighter he’s a good fighter he knows how to manage his conditioning, to manage the fight, he hits hard and as soon as he sees a weakness he has the power to finish it.
“It’s a fight to be careful.
“I think i do almost everything better than Derrick Lewis."
He added: “I can’t really put a prediction on the fight because the last time I done that, I tried to push myself, I’m going to fight differently and see what happens. If it takes three rounds I’m okay with it.”
I will be open to three rounds and not just one to finish. FInishing people in one round can happen but also the fight going to a decision can happen.
“I was more organised this time for the fight camp.”
FRANCIS Ngannou was homeless and used to sleep on the streets of Paris with no money - fast forward five years and he is one of the top heavyweight UFC fighters in the world.
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