Francis Ngannou has an incredible story from digging sand in Cameroon to leaving for France and eventually becoming UFC heavyweight champion. And with that, one manager says it’s impossible to not like him.
According to Ali Abdelaziz, who manages a ton of fighters like Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov, he says Ngannou’s story is incredible. He also considers the heavyweight champion to be one of the nicest people in the sport, so he says it’s impossible not to like him.
However, even with Ngannou’s freakish power and incredible story, he’s in a contract dispute with Dana White and the UFC. The president didn’t even wrap the belt around his waist at UFC 270. Yet, Abdelaziz believes White doesn’t dislike Ngannou.
“You look at the story. The guy came form Cameroon, went to Morocco, got on a boat, a plastic boat to Europe, you know,” Abdelaziz said to MMAJunkie. “The man has a strong will. Dana White has been waiting 20 years for someone like Francis… This whole narrative that Dana White don’t like Francis or hates Francis, I think is wrong. It’s almost impossible not to like Francis. The guy, he puts on great shows, he’s a great human being.”
Francis Ngannou is coming off a decision victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 to defend his heavyweight title for the first time. He impressed many by using his wrestling to win the fight, a path to victory that not many people thought was going to happen.
With the win, he now has one fight left on his deal or can wait it out until the end of December. At this point, there have been no major progress on Ngannou re-signing with the UFC. Despite the standstill, Abdelaziz believes White doesn’t dislike Ngannou, as many think he does.
Do you think Francis Ngannou will re-sign with the UFC?
