Francis Zavier Ngannou was born on 5 September 1986 and is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist.
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Francis Zavier Ngannou was born on 5 September 1986 and is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist.
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Ngannou lived in poverty and had little formal education growing up.
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Ngannou's parents divorced when he was six years old, and he was sent to live with his aunt.
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At 10 years old, Ngannou started working in a sand quarry in Batie because of a lack of funds.
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However, Ngannou refused and instead decided to use his father's negative reputation as a street fighter as motivation to do something positive and pursue boxing.
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At the age of 22, Ngannou began training in boxing, despite the initial reluctance of his family.
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Ngannou next faced UFC newcomer Curtis Blaydes on 10 April 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86.
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Ngannou won the fight via TKO, due to doctor stoppage at the end of the second round.
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Ngannou then faced Anthony Hamilton on 9 December 2016, at UFC Fight Night 102.
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Ngannou won the fight by submission in the first round, and earned his first UFC Performance of the Night bonus.
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Ngannou was expected to face Junior dos Santos on 9 September 2017, at UFC 215.
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In turn, Ngannou was removed from the card after promotion officials deemed that a suitable opponent could not be arranged.
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Ngannou faced Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on 20 January 2018, at UFC 220.
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Ngannou faced Curtis Blaydes in a rematch on 24 November 2018, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 141 He won the fight via TKO early into the first round.
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Ngannou headlined the UFC's inaugural event on ESPN, UFC on ESPN 1 against Cain Velasquez on 17 February 2019.
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Ngannou won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
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Ngannou was scheduled to face Jairzinho Rozenstruik on 28 March 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs Rozenstruik.
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Ngannou won via knockout just 20 seconds into the first round.
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Ngannou faced the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane for his first title defense on 22 January 2022, at UFC 270.
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Ngannou won the fight by unanimous decision, the first decision win of his career.
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