[Video] Francis Ngannou Reveals He Used To ‘Not Give A S*** About MMA’

Francis Ngannou will fight Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title this Saturday at UFC 220, but it wasn’t all that long ago that the UFC title challenger didn’t care about MMA.

The Cameroonian-Frenchman only began training MMA four years ago when he approached his now longtime head coach Fernand Lopez at the MMA Factory. Speaking last week in Paris to MMANytt, Ngannou spoke about his first training sessions with Lopez.

“Yes, I remember [my first session],” Ngannou said. “It was upstairs. I remember when I begin my first training and when I met Fernand for the first time. I used to also used to go to my old gym, the gym I went to for the first time when I came to Paris. I started with boxing, but then I had a friend who told me about MMA. So, yes, I remember it.”

Back then, Ngannou admits it was purely focused on his boxing and that MMA wasn’t even something he really cared about. Now, just a few years on, he looks back at those times and finds it slightly humorous that he’s now fighting for the UFC heavyweight title.

“I never thought I would fight for the UFC title,” Ngannou said. “Me, I just started MMA for fun. I wasn’t really about MMA, [but] people were saying with my power and my boxing, do a little but of wrestling and jiu-jitsu, you can take the UFC belt.

“I didn’t give a s***, I was like what is that? What am I going to do with the UFC belt. That’s it. Two years later I signed with the UFC and we’re here now. When I signed with the UFC, that’s when I decided to take the opportunity. The boxing opportunity, I didn’t have that before the UFC. MMA was something that came to me. At some point you should take something that’s made easy to you.”

He then added: “It’s going well so far.” It sure is Francis.

Full Francis Ngannou Documentary: