Francis Zavier Ngannou is a mixed martial artist who is signed to the Professional Fighters League. He is the former UFC heavyweight champion who also fought for the 100% Fight MMA promotion in France.
The Cameroonian-French fighter was born in the Baite village of Cameroon on September 5, 1986. He lived with an aunt because his parents divorced when he was 6 years old. Young Francis was forced to work at the age of 10 due to poverty.
Ngannou began his combat sports career late as it wasn’t until he was 22 years old when he began to train in boxing. He met MMA trainer Fernand Lopez at the MMA Factory gym in France and was convinced to try his hand at MMA because he had the potential. Ngannou made his pro MMA debut at the age of 27 via the 100% Fight promotion and fought a total of four times for the organization.
He fought two more times under independent promotions before making his UFC debut against Luis Henrique at UFC on Fox 17. The 29-year old Ngannou won the fight via second round knockout. At the age of 31, The Predator received his first UFC title shot but lost via unanimous decision to Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. Six fights later, a 34-year old Ngannou knocked out Miocic in a rematch to become the UFC heavyweight champion.
Last year, Ngannou fulfilled a lifelong dream when he finally made his professional boxing debut against lineal heavyweight Tyson Fury. The 37-year-old Ngannou recorded a knockdown but Fury rallied to win the fight via split decision. One month ago, Ngannou suffered the first knockout loss of his career when Anthony Joshua stopped him inside two rounds during a 12-round boxing bout in Saudi Arabia.