On October 19, 2024 in Saudi Arabia, Francis Ngannou will return to mixed martial arts (MMA), more than two years after his last fight won against the Frenchman Ciryl Gane, for the heavyweight title of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). This time, it is the belt of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) that the Cameroonian is aiming for, against the Brazilian Renan Ferreira. A complex challenge for the superstar who has devoted a large part of the last two years to English boxing and his fights against the British Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Francis Ngannou has especially experienced a tragedy with the death of his 15-month-old son. Interview.
RFI: Francis Ngannou, you are facing Brazilian Renan Ferreira on October 19, 2024 at the PFL. What do you think of this opponent?
Francis Ngannou: I think he’s a very good opponent, very talented, maybe a little less experienced than me, but very talented.
It’s been over two years since you last competed in a professional MMA fight. You’ve had two professional boxing fights in the meantime. Are you happy to be back in mixed martial arts (MMA)?
Yes, I’m happy. Afterwards, finding MMA again, I wouldn’t say it like that. Even if in the meantime, I did boxing, I never really left MMA, we never really left each other.
What is more important to you today? Being successful in sport at the PFL or your work as head of the PFL Africa branch, which will be responsible for promoting MMA on the continent?
Right now, it’s the fight. (He thinks) But I must admit that what interested me in the PFL proposal was more the African side, what was envisaged for the PFL Africa and the interest they gave to it. That’s what fascinated me the most in their proposal, unlike others.
The PFL will be in Africa in 2025 with a first MMA gala on the continent. Do you already know in which country, on what date?
No, it’s not decided yet. I think there’s still some in-depth work being done on the roster (the workforce, editor’s note) of fighters. Afterwards, there will be a matchmaking (preparing for and organizing the fights, Editor’s note) depending on the fighters we have available, who will have already signed a contract. As for the location, it is not defined either. Given the fighters we have for the moment, Cameroon and Nigeria dominate.
Also readMMA/Francis Ngannou: “This new project fascinates me”
You were an MMA world champion, you faced two boxing legends. What drives you to continue, beyond contractual and financial obligations?
I don’t think it’s contractual or financial. I don’t think I have any obligations. I have a choice. If I had decided not to continue, nothing would have stopped me. For me, it’s a question of passion, of satisfaction, a form of existence.
You have accomplished a lot in sport. You have also experienced personal dramas. Is it sometimes difficult to find the energy to go back into combat?
Yes, it is sometimes very difficult. I am not going to lie. I have to say that it was very difficult for this time, more than any time in my life and in my career, because many things were questioned, doubted. Already, my desire to fight again, my will.
How much longer do you plan to continue the fighting?
I don’t know. I’ll let time decide, I’ll let passion, my desire decide for me. The day I no longer have this desire and this determination, I’ll stop.
Also readMMA: Cameroonian Francis Ngannou, crowned by force of will
You have acquired superstar status, especially in Africa. Has it become more important to you over time, what you represent on the continent?
I don’t know… (He hesitates) Actually, lately, I don’t know a lot of things anymore. I ask myself a lot of questions about a lot of things. About who I am, what I embody… These are questions that I ask myself. Who am I? What am I doing? Am I doing it well? Does it make sense? And, if not, why am I doing it?
Beyond the sporting aspect, you have several activities in Cameroon. Can you tell us about them? ?
I have my foundation, where we now have training centers. We also have a computer center with the foundation. I also follow football a little bit. I support the football team (The Sand of Batié, Editor’s note) of my village. It wasn’t a project I had thought about much at first. But recently, I realized that my village was a bit lacking in sports, while I was a great sportsman. I had the opportunity to motivate the village a bit to regain its status as a sports community, as it had back then.
I imagine you follow the news on the continent. The number of people dying in the Sahara, in the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, while trying to reach Europe, continues to increase. What does this inspire in you, you who have experienced the tragedy of migration?
It’s sad, just sad (voice off). Our authorities must take all this into consideration and try to find solutions, perhaps by making the climate more favorable for our young people to develop locally. We have plenty of resources, even if, for years, we have been lied to by being told that we are poor – when we are actually very rich – and that the West is very rich, which is not true, because there are people who struggle enormously here. However, others are not doing badly and with little in the country, and above all who are very happy and fulfilled.
Also readInfoMigrants – Francis Ngannou, a Cameroonian migrant who became a boxing star