Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He currently competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC), where he is the current

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. As of November 14, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Early life and education

Ngannou was born and raised in the village of Batié,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He lived in poverty and had little formal education growing up. Ngannou's parents divorced when he was six years old, and he was sent to live with his aunt. At 10 years old, Ngannou started working in a sand quarry in Batié because of a lack of funds. As a youngster, he was approached by several gangs in his village to join them. However, Ngannou refused and instead decided to use his father's negative reputation as a

street fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

as motivation to do something positive and pursue boxing. At the age of 22, Ngannou began training in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, despite the initial reluctance of his family. After training for a year, Ngannou stopped training due to an illness. He did various odd jobs to make ends meet, until at the age of 26, he decided to head to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, to pursue

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

. However upon reaching Europe, he was jailed for two months in Spain for illegally crossing the border. After Ngannou reached Paris, he had no money, no friends, and no place to live. After living homeless on the streets of Paris, he met

Francis Carmont Francis Carmont (born October 10, 1981) is a French professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, Carmont has competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, and KSW. Mixed mart ...

who introduced him to

Fernand Lopez Fernand Lopez Owonyebe (born November 12, 1978) is a Cameroonian-French former mixed martial artist (MMA) and current MMA coach. He is best known for establishing MMA Factory, the biggest MMA gym in France, as well as being the former trainer o ...

and the

MMA factory MMA Factory is a mixed martial arts gym based in Paris, France. It is considered the largest MMA gym in France, and is notable for producing UFC Heavyweight Champion, Francis Ngannou and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion, Ciryl Gane. Overv ...

. Being a fan of

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

, Ngannou was originally interested in learning how to box but Lopez saw his potential in MMA and convinced him to try MMA instead. Lopez gave Ngannou some MMA gear and allowed him to train and sleep at the gym for no cost thus starting Ngannou's MMA career. Reflecting on his journey across continents and his decision to become an MMA fighter, Ngannou said:

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ngannou started his MMA career in November 2013 and fought mostly in the French promotion ''100% Fight'', as well as other regional promotions in Europe. He compiled a record of 5–1 before signing with the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ngannou made his UFC debut against fellow newcomer Luis Henrique on 19 December 2015, at

UFC on Fox 17 ''UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 17'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 19, 2015, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Ngannou next faced UFC newcomer

Curtis Blaydes Curtis Lionell Blaydes (born February 18, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Blayde ...

on 10 April 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 86 ''UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 86'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 10, 2016, at the Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia. Background The event was the first that the organization has hosted ...

. He won the fight via TKO, due to doctor stoppage at the end of the second round. In his next bout, Ngannou faced another newcomer in Bojan Mihajlović on 23 July 2016, at

UFC on Fox 20 ''UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 23, 2016, at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined b ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Ngannou then faced Anthony Hamilton on 9 December 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 102 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 102'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 9, 2016, at Times Union Center in Albany, New York Background This event wa ...

. He won the fight by submission in the first round, and earned his first UFC ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Ngannou faced

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

on 28 January 2017, at

UFC on Fox 23 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. The win also earned Ngannou his second ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Ngannou was expected to face

Junior dos Santos Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of Eagle FC. As a mixed martial ar ...

on 9 September 2017, at

UFC 215 ''UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background The promotion was initially planning a PPV event ...

. However, on 18 August, Dos Santos was pulled from the match after being notified of a potential

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

violation. In turn, Ngannou was removed from the card after promotion officials deemed that a suitable opponent could not be arranged. In the highest profile fight of his career, Ngannou faced veteran

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight C ...

on 2 December 2017, at

UFC 218 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This knockout has been labeled as one of the greatest and most brutal knockouts of all time. Following the bout, Ngannou signed a new, eight-fight contract with the UFC. Ngannou faced

Stipe Miocic Stipe Miocic (born August 19, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. Miocic i ...

for the

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

on 20 January 2018, at

UFC 220 ''UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between curren ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Ngannou faced

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

on 7 July 2018, at

UFC 226 ''UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 7, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background The event took pl ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. The fight was heavily criticized by the media and the fans for the lack of offence from both competitors and was labeled as a "snoozefest". Ngannou faced

in a rematch on 24 November 2018, in the main event at

UFC Fight Night 141 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 141'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 24, 2018 at Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China. Background ...

He won the fight via TKO early into the first round. The win also earned him a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Ngannou headlined the UFC's inaugural event on ESPN,

UFC on ESPN 1 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 1'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 17, 2019 at Talking Stick Resort Arena, now known as Footprint Center ...

against

Cain Velasquez Caín Ramirez Velasquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist, currently appearing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ...

on 17 February 2019. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Ngannou faced

on 29 June 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 3 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 29, 2019, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Background Th ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. This fight earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Ngannou was scheduled to face

Jairzinho Rozenstruik Jairzinho Rozenstruik (born 17 March 1988) is a Surinamese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He currently holds the record for second fast ...

on 28 March 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the event was eventually postponed . The pair was rescheduled to meet at 18 April 2020, at

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

. However, on 9 April,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of the UFC announced that the event was postponed and the bout eventually took place on 9 May 2020. Ngannou won via knockout just 20 seconds into the first round. This win earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

''award.

UFC Heavyweight Championship

=Miocic vs. Ngannou II

= A rematch of the bout between Miocic and Ngannou for the

took place on 27 March 2021, at

UFC 260 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. Ngannou won the fight via knockout in the second round. This win earned him the ''

'' award.

=Ngannou vs. Gane

= Ngannou faced the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion

Ciryl Gane Ciryl Jacky Gane (born 12 April 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. A professi ...

for his first title defense on 22 January 2022, at

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificati ...

. He injured knee ligaments three and a half weeks before the fight. Ngannou won the fight by unanimous decision, the first decision win of his career.

Personal life

Ngannou speaks several languages including Ngemba, French, and English. He learned English after joining the UFC.

Philanthropy

The Francis Ngannou Foundation runs the first MMA gym in Cameroon, aiming to offer facilities for young people to have a place to train.

Filmography

Films

Championships and accomplishments

(One time, current) *** One successful title defense ** First

-born UFC champion **

(Six times) **World record for the hardest punch *

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

** 2017 Knockout of the Year vs.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

** 2017 Knockout of the Year vs.

* Pundit Arena ** 2017 Knockout of the Year vs.

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' w ...

SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Bleszinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2005. The blog from which the network ...

** 2017 Knockout of the Year vs.

** 2017 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2017 Knockout of the Year vs.

**2021 March Knockout of the Month vs.

*MMADNA.nl **2017 Knockout of the Year. *World MMA Awards ** 2017 Knockout of the Year vs. Alistair Overeem

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

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Pay-per-view bouts

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngannou, Francis People from Centre Region (Cameroon) Living people Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Cameroonian male mixed martial artists French male mixed martial artists Cameroonian emigrants to France Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Ultimate Fighting Championship champions 1986 births

Early life and education

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Heavyweight Championship

=Miocic vs. Ngannou II

=Ngannou vs. Gane

Personal life

Philanthropy

Filmography

Films

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Pay-per-view bouts

See also

Notes

References

External links