Francis Ngannou Returned To Cameroon For The 1st Time As Champion And The Reception Was Bonkers

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Becoming the UFC’s Heavyweight Champion is a near impossible feat for any man, but for Francis Ngannou, it’s a damn miracle.

The Predator grew up in the poverty-stricken town of Batie, Cameroon and at just 10 years old, he was digging at a local sand quarry just to provide for his single mother and his aunt. Dumpster diving was a necessity at times, and Francis would head down to the market at night just to rummage through the trash for something salvageable.

“Sometimes you’d argue with a rat in the trash – ‘Get away from this tomato, it’s mine, this rotten tomato is mine, not yours,'” he told The Joe Rogan Experience. 

Now, after a knockout against Stipe Miocic in the second round, the 34-year-old is can now call himself UFC’s Heavyweight Champion of the world. Residents in his birth town stayed up until 5:15 am to witness history on March 27.

Ngannou returned to his native land of Cameroon for the first time as Champion, and it appears that all 25 million Cameroonians lined the streets to offer him a hero’s welcome like nothing I’ve ever seen.

The scene in Douala, the largest city in Cameroon and the country’s economic capital.

If this doesn’t inspire you, I’m fresh out of ideas.

Matt Keohan Avatar
Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.