Cameroon: the champion Francis Ngannou received in triumph in Douala

The city of Douala experienced a different kind of atmosphere on April 26, 2021, and for good reason, Francis Ngannou (1.95 m), heavyweight champion of the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), had come to share his victory with the authorities and inhabitants of the Cameroonian economic capital.

After landing at Douala International Airport, where a huge crowd was waiting for him, the champion immediately went to the governor’s office to present him with his gold belt. This was followed by a tour of the city, in the main streets of the economic capital. Francis Ngannou then attended a press conference and a party called « Soirée des Imbattables », organised by the mobile phone company MTN Cameroon.

Francis Ngannou was born on 5 September 1986 in Batié (Western Region) and grew up in a poor family. At the age of six, his parents divorced and he was shunted to relatives who agreed to take him in. At the age of twelve, he dropped out of school and worked in a sand quarry. Armed with a crowbar, he broke the stones. And he already showed extraordinary physical qualities.

Physical qualities that would encourage him to put on the gloves, late in life. It was only at the age of 22 that he started English boxing, without any previous experience. But his physical qualities (it must be said that the colossus is 1.95m tall and weighs 117 kilos), his self-sacrifice and his courage decided him to try to become a professional.

On March 27, 2021 at UFC 260, Francis Ngannou became the heavyweight champion by beating American Stipe Miocic by KO in the second round. After a walkabout in Douala, the world boxing superstar will head to Yaounde and then to the West of the country for the same exercise.