I ‘refuse for life to take me down,’ says world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou

Despite facing many difficult challenges in his life, including the death of his son, MMA superstar and undisputed heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou said he refuses to let life take him down.

In an interview ahead of the ‘PFL Battle of the Giants’ fight in Riyadh, the Cameroonian athlete said that believing in a better tomorrow helps keep him resilient.

“I take things one step at a time and I try not to quit and give up every time. I keep one foot after another, hoping for a better day and believing that tomorrow will be better,” he said.

Ngannou is set to make his highly anticipated return to the sport of MMA as “The Predator,” when he faces PFL Heavyweight Champion Renan “Problema” Ferreira at the Kingdom Arena in the Saudi capital on Saturday night.

“My fans can expect to see me returning, to see me come back and claim who I am. They can see me refuse for life to take me down and to see my passion for combat sports,” he said in the interview.

A treacherous journey

His journey to becoming a world heavyweight champion has been a tough one, and has often been described as one of the most inspiring stories in combat sports.

And while he loves what he does, Ngannou said that the burden that comes with being inspirational has often been heavy.

“If I had to choose I wouldn’t pick to be an inspirational person, because it only means you had hardships. It means that life hit you over and over and over and I think I am at a point in my life that I am really tired and I would rather not be inspirational and just would rather have a normal life,” he said.

Ngannou was born and raised in the village of Batié, Cameroon where he lived in poverty and had little education.

At 12 years old, the world champion started working in a sand mine where he earned a meager $1.50 every day.

He was approached by gangs in his village to join them. However, Ngannou refused and instead decided to use his father’s reputation as a street fighter as motivation to pursue boxing.

At the age of 22, Ngannou began training in boxing but had to stop due to illness.

After working various odd jobs to earn a living, the young man decided to embark on a treacherous journey to Europe in hopes of securing a better future for himself and his family.

At 26 years old, he then made the 3-000 mile trek from Cameroon to Morocco through forests, mountains, and eventually the Sahara desert before attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Spain.

After three failed attempts, the athlete finally made it to Spain but was held in an immigration-detention center for months.

“Being inspirational, it comes in a hard way,” he noted.

Once he was released from the detention center, Ngannou emigrated to Paris where he lived on the streets and began training for free in August 2013 under Fernand Lopez Owonyebe at the MMA Factory.

Being a fan of Mike Tyson, Ngannou was originally interested in learning how to box until his coach introduced him to MMA.

Ngannou started his MMA career mostly fighting in the French promotion 100% Fight, as well as other regional promotions in Europe, until 2015 when he made his professional debut under the UFC.

Regaining his freedom

Ngannou and the UFC cut their ties in January 2023 due to contractual disputes and in May 2023, he announced that he had signed a multi-fight deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL).

Joining the PFL, the world’s fastest-growing MMA company, has allowed the athlete to “regain his freedom,” he told Al Arabiya English.

Under his contract with the PFL, Ngannou competes in the league’s pay-per-view super fight decision, while still being free to compete in other sports such as boxing.

He is also a part of the PFL’s global advisory board – which is meant to advocate for fighters’ interests – and an equity owner and chairman of the PFL Africa League.

His signing with the PFL has offered him a fresh start in his career and a great outlet for his emotions, he said.

“Going back into training was a way to discover where I am, and so far it has been good. Even if I had a rough day it would not impact my training. I am quite able to disassociate with those feelings, and separate training and emotions. I think it’s just about to deal with those feelings, live with it, and be able to manage those feelings,” he said.

PFL Battle of the Giants

In the main event of PFL Battle of the Giants, Ngannou and Ferreira will vie for the newly minted PFL Super Fights Championship Belt.

The co-main event will feature another major world title fight featuring the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all-time, Cris “Cyborg,” whose legacy will be on the line when she squares off against PFL two-division champion Larissa Pacheco, who looks to prove she is the greatest women’s MMA fighter on the planet.

In addition, reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Johnny Eblen will put his perfect record on the line once again as he takes on England’s Fabian Edwards in a highly anticipated rematch.

The PFL Battle of the Giants main card will also see the return of former Bellator Featherweight World Champion AJ McKee (22-1) welcome the surging Paul Hughes (12-1) to the upper echelon of the Lightweight division.

Here are some facts about the belt:

12.5 pounds of gold

10-sided decagon plates, tribute to the PFL SmartCage

Side plates celebrating each division

All culminating in a design that embodies the spirit and magnitude of PFL Super Fights