In an exclusive interview with RMC Sport, MMA fighter Francis Ngannou discussed his return to the cage on October 19 in Saudi Arabia, against PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira.
“I’m hungry too!” The talented Renan Ferreira is warned, if the Brazilian, carried by the passion of his youth, nourishes the dream of toppling the statues of the category, Francis Ngannou is determined to defend his own status, and to demonstrate that MMA remains his kingdom. On this point, Ngannou was keen to clarify it from the outset on RMC: “I never left MMA.”
The fighter also told us that his recovery went as if he had never left the training rooms of the discipline: “The reflexes were there.” “I didn’t really leave MMA, I focused on other things, he clarified. I had a knee operation that took quite a while. It was a good opportunity for me to get back on my feet with boxing while avoiding everything that is wrestling, the timing was perfect.”
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“Reality is catching up with us”
After a successful foray into the world of boxing, the Cameroonian heavyweight is preparing to make both his return to the cage and his big debut with the organization of the PFL, on Saturday, October 19, in Saudi Arabia. Grieving the death of his 15-month-old son this year, Ngannou sees this new sporting challenge as a way “to respond to life, to honor what is dear to me.”
And what better way to do that than to go after the PFL champion who has four wins by finish before the third round? “Four wins, I’ve seen them before, I myself had more than four wins before the limit, but at a certain point reality catches up with us, that’s sport, that’s how it is. There’s always something somewhere that’s going to overwhelm us. And I think I’m that thing.”
Francis Ngannou’s departure from the UFC, while he was heavyweight champion, is partly linked to the negotiations around a fight with the current holder of the belt, the American Jon Jones. The Cameroonian has never hidden it, it is a fight that he absolutely wanted.
Which is why, when asked which fighter he would dream of facing between Jones Jones, Tom Aspinall (the interim heavyweight champion) and Alex Pereira (UFC light heavyweight champion), if he were allowed to grant a wish, his answer is clear: “There is no match. Let’s not be stupid, even if they are all champions, let’s still give Jon Jones what he deserves, even if sometimes he is a bit of an idiot.”
