The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is visiting France for the very first event organized by the UFC in Paris, his former city, this September 3, 2022, seven months after his victory against the French Ciryl Gane. For RFI, the Cameroonian looks back on his convalescence of several months after a right knee operation, his conflicting relations with the all-powerful MMA league about a new contract which would allow him in particular to do boxing, his desires in this discipline… Interview.
RFI: Francis Ngannou, where are you in your recovery?
Francis Ngannou: I am 5 months post-op. It going. But this is not the kind of situation where one should hope for magic. You have to give yourself 10-12 months for a full recovery. There is still a long way to go. There are exercises I can’t do yet. I have many limitations and movement restrictions.
How do you keep the morale and the flame with such a long period of inactivity, without a fight?
In the past, even though I was not injured, especially during the last three years, I had experiences where I fought almost once a year, because of the relationship with the UFC. And then, although I am a professional fighter, I still have a life besides MMA. It is a period that I use to take care of myself, to focus on my personal life, family and other affairs. I also have other passions. I pretty much occupy my time. But in a month, I will try to upgrade myself. Even if I don’t have a fight, I would have to come back a bit in a state of form close to that of a fighter.
How is your relationship with the UFC?
Not much was done or said. There, I touch the bottom of the problem and I will not just scrape the surface. In most cases, these are topics they don’t want to talk about. However, I do not want to move forward without having an answer or a solution to these problems which affect me today and would still do so tomorrow if I signed today.
Are you considering other options?
Everything is possible. We are still in a combat sports environment where we have a lot of options. Even today, I am still passionate about boxing which is my first discipline. It’s my dream sport. It’s a possibility, with or without the UFC. It’s also a possibility to continue in MMA, with or without the UFC. I still have a choice, although I would like the UFC to come to its senses and try to change some things in the terms of the contract and the way they treat fighters.
Your boxing projects seemed to become very concrete when you entered the ring alongside WBC world heavyweight champion, Briton Tyson Fury, on April 23, 2022. Has this project evolved?
I can’t really say it’s changing. It can’t evolve because, casually, I’m still under contract with the UFC. However, this contract stipulates that one does not have the right to engage in talks with another organization, as long as one is under contract. But it is clear to me that I cannot stop my career without having made some boxing fights.
The UFC organizes its very first event in Paris, the city where you discovered MMA. What inspires you to see the Ultimate Fighting Championship come to your old town?
It is something beautiful. I always dreamed of the UFC in Paris, to take part in it. […] I have always dreamed of fighting at Bercy. Because when I arrived in Paris, I was sleeping in a parking lot on avenue Daumesnil [proche de l’Accor Hotel Arena, Ndlr]. Sometimes I came to spend the day in the park near Bercy. I dreamed of fighting one day in this room. […]
It’s still a great story for MMA with its legalization in France. It is a fight in which we nevertheless participated. It’s great to be present to celebrate this event which is a success for French sport.