WEBVTT - Francis Ngannou: From the Cameroon Sand Mines to Heavyweight Champ 0:00:15.436 --> 0:00:22.116 Pushkin. There's a song I've turned to for years whenever 0:00:22.156 --> 0:00:25.276 I'm feeling counted out. It's called Against All Odds by 0:00:25.356 --> 0:00:29.596 the late great Tupac Shakur. And it's that song that 0:00:29.676 --> 0:00:31.516 kept coming to mind when I was speaking with UFC 0:00:31.636 --> 0:00:36.076 heavyweight Champ Francis and Ghani. And Ghanu literally fought his 0:00:36.156 --> 0:00:38.836 way up from a village in rural Cameroon against all 0:00:38.916 --> 0:00:42.116 possible odds to become one of the greatest competitors of 0:00:42.116 --> 0:00:46.156 all time in mixed martial arts. And Ghanu's story is 0:00:46.196 --> 0:00:48.636 one that's gonna stick with you for a while, even 0:00:48.676 --> 0:00:50.836 if you're not a fight fan. I mean to be honest, 0:00:50.876 --> 0:00:54.156 I betterly know the first thing about MMA, but continue 0:00:54.196 --> 0:00:58.116 to be riveted by and Ghanu's determination and spirit. And 0:00:58.196 --> 0:01:02.636 I'm excited to see what he does next. This is 0:01:02.636 --> 0:01:05.836 started from the bottom, hard earned success stories from people 0:01:06.316 --> 0:01:15.916 like us. Growing up, my favorite things was like action movie, combat, sport. 0:01:16.156 --> 0:01:18.516 What were the movies like? What did you love? Every 0:01:18.596 --> 0:01:23.356 kind of like action movie like Ramble dam the blood 0:01:23.356 --> 0:01:28.876 spoil sports, Oh man, that was fantastic. Hell I remember 0:01:28.996 --> 0:01:32.036 like watching um I think it was a blood spoil 0:01:32.916 --> 0:01:38.036 one A Vandam and tempo the movie that he kicked 0:01:38.076 --> 0:01:41.116 the tree with his kick. So after that, I went 0:01:41.116 --> 0:01:43.836 to the farm and then was kicking, just kicking banana 0:01:44.036 --> 0:01:48.396 until the third down and then yes, I kicking banana 0:01:48.796 --> 0:01:52.156 and then my hands. When she came back, she woke 0:01:52.196 --> 0:01:55.596 my ass because like there was a banana that we're 0:01:55.636 --> 0:01:58.356 supposed to eat, you could eat it. Yeah, yeah, you're 0:01:58.436 --> 0:02:02.316 ruining the bananas. Man. I was so much into like action, 0:02:02.436 --> 0:02:04.996 I need some action. So I went there kicked the 0:02:05.036 --> 0:02:08.276 hell out of those bananas, the banana trees. But had 0:02:08.276 --> 0:02:10.476 you not break? Was it the read like the trunk 0:02:10.556 --> 0:02:13.036 you were kicking. Yeah, but it's pretty soft though he 0:02:13.076 --> 0:02:16.556 has nothing to do with a tree, now, benana trunk 0:02:16.756 --> 0:02:20.516 is very is very soft. It can't hurt, but it 0:02:20.596 --> 0:02:23.156 can't break your food. Did you feel a sense of 0:02:23.156 --> 0:02:26.036 opportunity growing up, like did you feel like you could 0:02:26.396 --> 0:02:31.196 become something? I always felt like that. I always knew. 0:02:31.316 --> 0:02:33.996 I mean, even though there was an opportunity at all 0:02:34.796 --> 0:02:38.396 around me. But I do have a dream. I had 0:02:38.396 --> 0:02:42.036 a dream, and I think that was the biggest thing 0:02:42.116 --> 0:02:44.836 that I could have have in that position, you know, 0:02:44.916 --> 0:02:49.036 like see it like this. I grew up in the 0:02:49.036 --> 0:02:51.396 place that when we wake up, our biggest dream of 0:02:51.436 --> 0:02:55.276 the day is to eat something before go to sleep 0:02:55.316 --> 0:02:58.436 in the night, that was our biggest dream of the day, 0:02:58.596 --> 0:03:02.876 the mission of the day. So like I couldn't even 0:03:02.916 --> 0:03:06.516 go to school sometime because we were kicked out in 0:03:06.556 --> 0:03:11.076 the class due of maybe a pen or a notebook 0:03:11.476 --> 0:03:15.196 that we didn't have, or a scholar fee something like that. 0:03:15.276 --> 0:03:17.556 And that's even the reason why I started to work 0:03:17.916 --> 0:03:20.556 in the sand quarry, like when I was nine years old. 0:03:20.876 --> 0:03:24.596 So when you're in that type of situation and then 0:03:24.636 --> 0:03:28.716 you have this dream to become a work class boxer, 0:03:28.916 --> 0:03:31.396 what the hell is that? Like you should just focus 0:03:31.476 --> 0:03:35.556 be a farmer as your dad or your grandpa, or 0:03:35.636 --> 0:03:40.996 be a builder, a mechanic or stuff like that, or capender. 0:03:41.836 --> 0:03:46.836 And now I'm like, yeah, as much as it sounds cool, 0:03:47.116 --> 0:03:50.796 that's not what I want, you know, Like I just 0:03:50.836 --> 0:03:53.076 want to do this. And in my entire life, I've 0:03:53.076 --> 0:03:57.196 been fighting my family with my dream. People want to 0:03:57.276 --> 0:04:00.436 kill my dream and tell me how impossible is it? 0:04:00.636 --> 0:04:05.636 How I cannot make it? Couldn't just give up on it? 0:04:06.196 --> 0:04:10.276 When did your dream of becoming a boxer star? Honestly, 0:04:10.396 --> 0:04:13.356 like when I was kid, I love everything related to 0:04:13.396 --> 0:04:17.876 combat action. He could be a movie, a combat sport, 0:04:17.956 --> 0:04:21.676 a boxing matchic karate, as long as he say action. 0:04:22.916 --> 0:04:27.476 I loved it. But he was a one day. I 0:04:27.636 --> 0:04:30.276 was thirteen years old. I still remember that day like 0:04:30.316 --> 0:04:34.516 he was yesterday, even though he's been twenty three years. 0:04:35.236 --> 0:04:39.076 I get kicked out of the classroom someday, and that 0:04:39.316 --> 0:04:41.236 was like the time that you kind of like enough 0:04:41.436 --> 0:04:45.716 is enough. I was having enough to be embarrassed in 0:04:45.716 --> 0:04:48.876 the front of the class of other kids that would 0:04:48.876 --> 0:04:52.036 look at me like the guy that the guy that 0:04:53.396 --> 0:04:56.756 doesn't deserve to be there, to be among them because 0:04:56.756 --> 0:05:02.036 he has nothing. And that day they kicked me out 0:05:02.076 --> 0:05:06.876 of the classroom, and I was so upset about it, Like, men, 0:05:08.636 --> 0:05:12.036 what do I do to deserve this situation? What do 0:05:12.076 --> 0:05:14.516 I have less than other kids? Like, what is the 0:05:14.596 --> 0:05:17.276 difference between us? The difference is just that they are 0:05:17.356 --> 0:05:20.156 lucky enough to have the parents that can provide for them, 0:05:20.756 --> 0:05:25.356 unlike me. So that doesn't mean they deserve it better 0:05:25.396 --> 0:05:28.556 than I do. Matter of fact, I work hard to 0:05:28.636 --> 0:05:32.076 get all those stuff. I walk under the sun, the rain, 0:05:32.556 --> 0:05:35.556 in the weekend, in the holy days to have the 0:05:35.596 --> 0:05:38.316 minimum that I have, even though it's not enough, so 0:05:38.396 --> 0:05:40.916 at least I have a value of that, you know. 0:05:41.036 --> 0:05:44.316 So that was the turning point of my life. Then 0:05:44.436 --> 0:05:48.876 combined with the fact that my dad was fighting in 0:05:48.916 --> 0:05:51.636 the strait and kind of like have a reputation of 0:05:51.716 --> 0:05:56.316 the guy that fight everywhere, and I always like being 0:05:56.356 --> 0:06:01.276 a shame of not of him, but of what he 0:06:01.396 --> 0:06:05.396 was doing, and then promising myself not to become like him. 0:06:05.596 --> 0:06:09.356 Your dad, Yeah, but you didn't want to fight. Yeah, 0:06:09.396 --> 0:06:11.476 I didn't want to fight. But I don't want to 0:06:11.516 --> 0:06:13.316 fight in the street. I don't want to fight at 0:06:13.356 --> 0:06:17.236 school anymore because when I fight somewhere, they're just gonna say, like, 0:06:17.236 --> 0:06:20.316 they're gonna relate me to my dad, like yes, just 0:06:20.596 --> 0:06:23.276 like his dad, And I feel so bad about it. 0:06:23.676 --> 0:06:28.596 So I was contain my desire to fight until like 0:06:28.676 --> 0:06:31.116 when I was thirteen, the day that I was telling 0:06:31.476 --> 0:06:34.436 you earlier, that was the day that I figured out 0:06:34.556 --> 0:06:37.876 that boxing could be the thing that would combine everything. 0:06:38.276 --> 0:06:40.476 He will not only put me in the stage in 0:06:40.516 --> 0:06:43.836 front of other kids and prove them that I'm nothing 0:06:44.396 --> 0:06:47.596 less to them, I'm even better and I could be 0:06:47.716 --> 0:06:51.476 the number one. Are gonna be practicing doing what I 0:06:51.556 --> 0:06:54.316 love and in the good way, you know, I'm gonna 0:06:54.356 --> 0:06:59.596 get appreciated of fighting, unlike my dad would get blamed 0:06:59.596 --> 0:07:04.916 from fighting and also get paid. That was like a bonus, 0:07:05.316 --> 0:07:09.916 a serious on the cake, you know, everything together. I'm like, 0:07:09.956 --> 0:07:13.356 this is cool, you know. From there on, like that 0:07:13.556 --> 0:07:17.636 was my goal to become a boxer. But problem, I'm 0:07:17.676 --> 0:07:20.916 thirteen years old. I'm in this little village that has 0:07:21.076 --> 0:07:24.156 nothing around. I never see a gym with my eyes, 0:07:24.596 --> 0:07:28.316 and there's not a gym in fifteen miles radios. So 0:07:29.756 --> 0:07:33.316 how do I find a boxing gym? I don't know 0:07:33.956 --> 0:07:37.316 how do a boxing gym? Looks like the only thing 0:07:37.356 --> 0:07:40.156 that I know about it was what I was watching 0:07:40.196 --> 0:07:43.156 in the movie on TV. But I've never been until 0:07:43.276 --> 0:07:47.476 like I think I was twenty two. Then I'm like, okay, 0:07:47.836 --> 0:07:51.516 it's been so long, Like at some point I have 0:07:51.636 --> 0:07:54.876 to stop dreaming and really take action in order to 0:07:56.316 --> 0:08:00.476 accomplish the dream. So nine years, nine years, that dream 0:08:00.516 --> 0:08:04.396 does not go away. Oh he kept growing, he kept growing. 0:08:04.516 --> 0:08:07.836 Like before I left the village at twenty two years 0:08:08.196 --> 0:08:11.076 or I wasn't doing anything, Like I felt like everything 0:08:11.116 --> 0:08:15.316 that I was doing was worthless. You know, what were 0:08:15.316 --> 0:08:18.316 you doing? How are you? How are you surviving, sustaining yourself. 0:08:18.356 --> 0:08:20.876 I was still working in the sand quarry. I was 0:08:20.916 --> 0:08:24.476 a professional at that time. So what did that entail? 0:08:24.556 --> 0:08:26.676 What are you working at the sand quarry? Like, what 0:08:27.036 --> 0:08:30.476 did that entail? Dick, dig the sun from the mountain. 0:08:30.636 --> 0:08:34.396 Dig the mountain and then the water will carry the 0:08:34.436 --> 0:08:37.516 sun down, and then we're going to shovel from the 0:08:37.596 --> 0:08:42.476 water to put it outside and then shovel in the 0:08:42.476 --> 0:08:45.876 truck and they will use it for construction, you know. 0:08:46.556 --> 0:08:49.036 So that's what I was doing. I was also doing 0:08:49.116 --> 0:08:53.876 like a like a taxi with a motorcycle, as I 0:08:53.916 --> 0:08:57.076 don't know if you you have seen it in Africa. 0:08:57.356 --> 0:08:59.996 We get this those small motorcycle and we will do 0:09:00.076 --> 0:09:02.836 taxi with it. We can carry two or three people 0:09:03.276 --> 0:09:08.596 on it, yes, sometimes sitting on the gas tank in 0:09:08.636 --> 0:09:12.156 the front and you have like three people behind or 0:09:12.236 --> 0:09:16.756 two people with the with the back. And I was 0:09:16.796 --> 0:09:20.156 doing those stuff. Working at sand quarry does not sound fun. 0:09:20.196 --> 0:09:24.716 Sounds like tough, really hard work, you know, And a 0:09:24.716 --> 0:09:29.916 lot of people's dreams would die under conditions like that. 0:09:29.996 --> 0:09:32.236 Don't work like that that they just that they don't 0:09:32.236 --> 0:09:33.716 like that, they don't want to be doing. It's so 0:09:33.756 --> 0:09:37.076 far from what your dream was. A lot of people 0:09:37.076 --> 0:09:41.076 wouldn't the dream, wouldn't survive that, but you you also 0:09:41.116 --> 0:09:44.596 have to be you also have to be grateful about 0:09:44.636 --> 0:09:47.916 it because like at least it was something. It was 0:09:47.996 --> 0:09:51.996 something that we had to survive. It wasn't easy obviously, 0:09:52.156 --> 0:09:57.036 basically like starting from nine years old, but grown man's work. Though, 0:09:57.116 --> 0:09:59.516 it's a grown man's work. And that's why like my 0:09:59.556 --> 0:10:01.716 brother and I we were the only kids in that 0:10:01.876 --> 0:10:05.516 sand quarry at first, but lucky I was a little 0:10:05.596 --> 0:10:09.636 bigger than nine years old kids and they're stronger, so 0:10:10.116 --> 0:10:14.716 and we didn't have any opportunity, any choice. So and 0:10:15.036 --> 0:10:18.836 the reason why my dream didn't die. Even though I 0:10:18.876 --> 0:10:22.556 was grateful about that job, Like I was looking at 0:10:22.596 --> 0:10:26.196 people there, maybe some people that have been in that environment, 0:10:26.476 --> 0:10:29.116 those type of job for twenty years, and I couldn't 0:10:29.116 --> 0:10:31.756 see myself there for twenty years. I'm like, Okay, what's 0:10:31.796 --> 0:10:35.076 gonna happen when I turned fifty when I won't be 0:10:35.156 --> 0:10:38.676 strong enough to keep shoveling sand or to dig the mountain? 0:10:39.476 --> 0:10:42.636 Like I can't do this my entire life, And what 0:10:42.836 --> 0:10:46.516 would be the heritage that I will live to my family? 0:10:46.796 --> 0:10:50.036 For your kids? Yeah, yeah, to my kids, like this 0:10:50.196 --> 0:10:52.996 can be it, you know, I can just take it 0:10:53.196 --> 0:10:57.916 and sit here. I have to do something. Not sure 0:10:57.996 --> 0:11:01.596 what I was going to do was going to work, 0:11:01.956 --> 0:11:04.236 but one thing that I was always sure is that 0:11:04.356 --> 0:11:07.236 I'm going to do it. I'm going to try and 0:11:09.276 --> 0:11:14.356 that was my drive. So tell me about the moves 0:11:14.356 --> 0:11:18.236 you make then to get out of Cameroon and fulfill 0:11:18.276 --> 0:11:22.756 your dream of becoming a fighter professional boxer. Oh Man. 0:11:25.556 --> 0:11:28.196 At twenty two, I went to the city and then 0:11:28.236 --> 0:11:32.316 I started boxing, and he became very clear that in 0:11:32.436 --> 0:11:35.356 order to pursue that dream, I have to leave Cameron 0:11:36.076 --> 0:11:40.236 because once again there wasn't enough opportunity there to be 0:11:40.356 --> 0:11:44.316 on the big stage. I want to leave Cameron. By 0:11:44.356 --> 0:11:47.076 the way, that's not like young. I mean, that's kind 0:11:47.076 --> 0:11:50.716 of old to be starting a boxing career, right yeah, yeah, 0:11:50.756 --> 0:11:54.436 And that's what everybody says, like he's old. You're old. 0:11:54.596 --> 0:11:57.596 You can't do it. It's not possible. This I mean 0:11:57.636 --> 0:12:01.476 I left Cameron. I was twenty twenty six. Yeah, after 0:12:01.596 --> 0:12:04.556 being in the city for four years. I left Cameroon. 0:12:04.636 --> 0:12:07.876 I was twenty six. And not only I was twenty six, 0:12:08.036 --> 0:12:10.196 I didn't even know where I was going. I have 0:12:10.316 --> 0:12:14.796 to migrate, move country to country, city after city like 0:12:14.836 --> 0:12:19.836 a baby step go over all the against all the 0:12:19.876 --> 0:12:24.756 immigration law and at different borders, take me to that journey. Man, 0:12:24.836 --> 0:12:29.116 that's it's a wild story. Yeah. So, like I left Cameroon, 0:12:29.636 --> 0:12:34.316 next country in Nigeria, and then Niger, then Algeria, then 0:12:34.396 --> 0:12:38.916 Morocco and then from Morocco, we're trying to get to 0:12:39.156 --> 0:12:45.316 Spain like by a inflatable boat or whatever we can do. 0:12:45.476 --> 0:12:50.076 And it took me like one years. From Morocco. I 0:12:50.156 --> 0:12:54.116 spent like one years in Morocco. The entire June to 0:12:54.196 --> 0:13:00.356 get in France was like fourteen months. But I'm happy 0:13:00.436 --> 0:13:04.076 I finally made it because a lot of people don't 0:13:04.116 --> 0:13:07.036 make it, so I made. People don't make it. People 0:13:07.076 --> 0:13:11.596 get sent back, people people get back, people die, people die, 0:13:11.716 --> 0:13:14.436 people get killed. A lot of things happen, man, Like 0:13:14.956 --> 0:13:19.676 it's unbelievable. Like when you're in that world, it's insane 0:13:19.716 --> 0:13:24.036 what you can see, what's possible. Like your life was zero, 0:13:25.236 --> 0:13:31.236 Like not only nobody cares about your life, even you. 0:13:31.236 --> 0:13:33.636 You don't care about your life anymore at some point 0:13:33.676 --> 0:13:37.476 because like you kind of like in the position that 0:13:37.516 --> 0:13:40.956 you feel like you have nothing to lose, Yeah, and 0:13:40.996 --> 0:13:48.676 then you do some stupid shit like insane, like what man, 0:13:48.796 --> 0:13:51.916 those the reass that we took, like we would take 0:13:51.956 --> 0:13:55.076 the inflatable boat those board that you use for the 0:13:55.156 --> 0:13:58.196 swimming pool to put in in the ocean to patron 0:13:58.316 --> 0:14:02.636 to go to Europe. I mean it's like five the minimum. 0:14:02.756 --> 0:14:05.916 The closest will be like five miles. But you can't 0:14:05.956 --> 0:14:10.836 imagine the wave. The wave in the on the beach 0:14:11.156 --> 0:14:14.196 is insane. And we have to like hide from police, 0:14:14.636 --> 0:14:20.836 from the security, from the from the how they say, 0:14:21.236 --> 0:14:25.436 the immigration patrol and yeah, the immigration patrol, all those stuff, 0:14:25.956 --> 0:14:28.796 and then he always have to be at night and 0:14:29.076 --> 0:14:33.236 blind you can see every anything. We would like try 0:14:33.276 --> 0:14:40.596 and to get there inflate our boat. And how many 0:14:40.596 --> 0:14:43.876 people on one of those little pool raps I depend 0:14:43.916 --> 0:14:49.316 It could be up to twelve people, it depends. It's crazy, 0:14:49.396 --> 0:14:57.316 Like would a float even I mean he's floated, but yeah, 0:14:57.476 --> 0:15:06.396 I mean sometimes he could. He gets stopped in the 0:15:06.436 --> 0:15:10.476 middle of the ocean. And that's it. When you can 0:15:10.516 --> 0:15:15.436 start what happens. Guess when you stop in the middle 0:15:15.476 --> 0:15:21.276 of the ocean, then what happened? It's done. You're done. 0:15:21.316 --> 0:15:26.156 It's over, man, it's just over. Yeah, what do you 0:15:27.196 --> 0:15:32.276 what do you like? I guess when that kind of 0:15:32.276 --> 0:15:34.076 thing happens, do you have the thought that maybe I 0:15:34.196 --> 0:15:38.196 just go back to Cameroon or do you immediately have 0:15:38.596 --> 0:15:42.196 I got to try again? You always think about like 0:15:42.276 --> 0:15:47.916 going back, but for what. What you don't know when 0:15:47.956 --> 0:15:52.116 you leave your country is that it's get harder and harder. 0:15:52.596 --> 0:15:54.676 And then when you get to some when you start, 0:15:54.716 --> 0:15:56.916 you I'm like, oh, this is hard, and then you 0:15:56.916 --> 0:15:59.276 feel like you're some sort of like badass and I'm like, oh, 0:15:59.356 --> 0:16:02.196 I'm doing it, you know. And then it's keep getting 0:16:02.236 --> 0:16:07.996 harder and harder day after days, week after week, months, 0:16:08.276 --> 0:16:14.076 and then you kind of like get exhausted, like physically, mentally, financially, 0:16:14.996 --> 0:16:21.916 like you're exhausted, you know, and also like you kind 0:16:21.956 --> 0:16:26.916 of like bet everything on yourself to get there. So 0:16:27.316 --> 0:16:30.756 at that point, by the time that you really get exhausted, 0:16:30.796 --> 0:16:34.996 you have lost everything, so nothing left behind to go 0:16:35.076 --> 0:16:39.756 back for whatever was your safe that you had. You 0:16:39.836 --> 0:16:43.276 have to spend it all in order to make another 0:16:43.316 --> 0:16:46.436 step another step, and then you get blocked in the middle. 0:16:46.876 --> 0:16:50.556 You can go back, there's nothing behind, so the only 0:16:50.636 --> 0:16:57.876 option is like keep going after the break Francis gets 0:16:57.876 --> 0:17:00.356 to a place where he's finally free to chase his 0:17:00.476 --> 0:17:12.876 dream of becoming a boxer. Once you find the god, 0:17:12.916 --> 0:17:18.076 explain what did you do? Oh, I get in the 0:17:18.156 --> 0:17:24.636 chair because we get caught. We get caught in the ocean. 0:17:24.876 --> 0:17:27.236 I mean not like cod We get rescued by the 0:17:27.316 --> 0:17:30.276 Red Cross. But the thing, the Red Cross has an 0:17:30.276 --> 0:17:33.956 obligation to call the Homeland Security and tell them that, okay, 0:17:33.996 --> 0:17:37.036 we rescue some some people in the ocean, and we 0:17:37.116 --> 0:17:40.396 have no idea of the illegal situation. So when they 0:17:40.556 --> 0:17:44.036 bring us back on the court, they hang us to 0:17:44.236 --> 0:17:50.516 the Homeland Security, to the border police that would now 0:17:50.596 --> 0:17:57.636 take us to a police station, do all the questioning 0:17:57.796 --> 0:18:00.676 and then bring us to chair. And did you figure 0:18:00.716 --> 0:18:03.956 us over at that point back to back home? No, 0:18:05.916 --> 0:18:09.916 at that point we know we knew everything about immigration. 0:18:11.476 --> 0:18:15.756 You become an expert. Oh it's crazy how you what 0:18:15.956 --> 0:18:20.236 you can learn from being in the position. Like you 0:18:20.276 --> 0:18:23.516 can go to school for years and don't learn much, 0:18:23.756 --> 0:18:26.996 but when you're living in it, it's crazy how much 0:18:27.076 --> 0:18:30.356 you learn. We know all the immigration, all the countries 0:18:30.436 --> 0:18:34.236 that are allowed to deport every step along the way. 0:18:34.356 --> 0:18:38.556 We know what African country has a good relationship with 0:18:38.636 --> 0:18:41.556 whush country. And then when we get there we are 0:18:41.636 --> 0:18:45.156 just like, oh, we are from Malie. When when we 0:18:45.156 --> 0:18:48.916 are in Algeria, everybody is from Malie because Malie and 0:18:49.036 --> 0:18:53.116 Algeria has a good relationship. So everybody in Algeria is 0:18:53.156 --> 0:18:56.076 from Mali. And you you better find yourself a Malian 0:18:56.356 --> 0:19:01.516 a Malian passport, yea, even if from our leader from Ali. 0:19:01.916 --> 0:19:04.596 Just look at some passport, looks at somebody who looks 0:19:04.636 --> 0:19:07.036 like you, gives it to you, and then you give 0:19:07.076 --> 0:19:10.636 the money. And then when you get to Morocco, you're 0:19:10.676 --> 0:19:15.196 better off being a Senegalian than anything else because otherwise 0:19:15.236 --> 0:19:17.836 they're gonna send you in the desert every time. And 0:19:17.876 --> 0:19:20.636 then when they send you to the desert two three times, 0:19:21.236 --> 0:19:25.196 you realize that you have to find your way to 0:19:25.276 --> 0:19:31.716 be that Senegalles otherwise otherwise you're gonna keep going down 0:19:31.716 --> 0:19:34.476 to the desert and that trip. That trip is not fun. 0:19:36.356 --> 0:19:39.836 So you do what you have to do. You learn 0:19:39.956 --> 0:19:42.676 what you have to learn. It's not by choice, you're 0:19:42.756 --> 0:19:47.476 forced to. So yeah, when we get in a Spain, 0:19:47.956 --> 0:19:51.156 we knew all those stuff and that was the first 0:19:51.156 --> 0:19:55.316 place that we were like, I mean, as a Cameroonian. 0:19:55.396 --> 0:19:58.996 You're very happy at that moment because like, we don't 0:19:58.996 --> 0:20:03.316 have it a deportation law, so when you say you're 0:20:03.316 --> 0:20:06.676 from Cameroon, they can't expect to depart you to Cameroon. 0:20:07.196 --> 0:20:10.556 So Spain more, Spain can do it. No, they cannot 0:20:10.556 --> 0:20:15.956 do it. Yeah, if you're detained for a couple of months. Yeah, 0:20:16.036 --> 0:20:22.116 after we will be detained for two months days association 0:20:22.276 --> 0:20:26.036 than that, come and bear for us kind of and 0:20:26.076 --> 0:20:29.396 then the free us. You can stay there or you 0:20:29.436 --> 0:20:32.596 can leave. But at that time they don't want to 0:20:32.636 --> 0:20:36.916 stay in Spin. Some people stay in Spin. But I 0:20:36.916 --> 0:20:39.996 didn't want to stay in Spin because I have I 0:20:40.196 --> 0:20:47.156 was going somewhere. My best option would be like England. 0:20:47.796 --> 0:20:50.956 But the problem with England, even though you're in Europe, 0:20:51.196 --> 0:20:57.356 you still need another authorization to get there, so it's 0:20:57.396 --> 0:20:59.556 pretty hard and then you have to go through the 0:20:59.596 --> 0:21:02.516 same process. I'm like, man, I'm tired. I'm not doing 0:21:02.556 --> 0:21:05.996 this anymore. I don't know how long it's gonna take, 0:21:06.196 --> 0:21:09.836 maybe a week or a month or a year. And 0:21:09.996 --> 0:21:16.036 I'm getting old. I was twenty seven, twenty seven months takeaway. Yeah, 0:21:16.116 --> 0:21:19.116 So then I decided to go to Germany because at 0:21:19.116 --> 0:21:22.316 the time. Heavyweight boxing was very big in Germany with 0:21:22.396 --> 0:21:26.396 the clich Goo brother brothers and others, and I'm like, 0:21:26.476 --> 0:21:31.316 I'm going to Germany. For some reason, I stopped getting 0:21:31.356 --> 0:21:34.796 the bus that we stopped in Paris. Then I'm like, oh, 0:21:34.916 --> 0:21:37.556 let's spend some few days in Paris. And that was it. 0:21:38.996 --> 0:21:43.996 I was day in Paris. But I mean I felt 0:21:44.076 --> 0:21:48.516 very comfortable just then in Paris that I just wanted 0:21:48.596 --> 0:21:52.356 someplace with the opportunity to get where I wanted and 0:21:52.396 --> 0:21:55.676 to do what I want, you know, and this is 0:21:55.716 --> 0:21:59.796 not bad. Let's just settle here, focused on the goal, 0:21:59.996 --> 0:22:02.436 on the dream. So once you once you're in Paris, 0:22:02.436 --> 0:22:04.196 how do you get how do you get into the 0:22:04.236 --> 0:22:07.756 UFC because your dreams to be a boxer? Yeah, Oh, 0:22:07.796 --> 0:22:10.236 a lot of things happened in Paris. When I went 0:22:10.276 --> 0:22:12.516 in Paris. The next day, I go out and look 0:22:12.556 --> 0:22:14.716 for a gym. I found this gym named the Kajin 0:22:15.436 --> 0:22:19.636 Kjein and I met a guy there named DJ Carmel 0:22:20.516 --> 0:22:25.276 and he was giving the class that day because the 0:22:25.316 --> 0:22:29.356 coach wasn't there. I explained everything to him and I'm like, 0:22:29.396 --> 0:22:32.316 I just needed a place to train. I can't pay 0:22:32.676 --> 0:22:35.196 and he said he's going to speak to the coach 0:22:35.276 --> 0:22:37.236 on my behalf and see what he can do. So 0:22:37.316 --> 0:22:39.596 after three days he gave me a call and say, yes, 0:22:39.636 --> 0:22:42.276 it's good, you can come train. And that's where I 0:22:42.276 --> 0:22:43.956 started training. What did he call you? Right? Where are 0:22:43.996 --> 0:22:52.996 you staying? In the parking lot? We found a parking lot. 0:22:53.116 --> 0:23:01.276 I was sleeping in the parking lot. It was pretty cool. Listen. 0:23:01.356 --> 0:23:04.876 He wasn't about where I was staying. It wasn't about 0:23:04.996 --> 0:23:08.596 the condition that I was living in. You know, by 0:23:08.676 --> 0:23:13.476 that time, I have seen so worse, so like from 0:23:13.556 --> 0:23:16.396 what I was doing, from what I've been through in Morocco, 0:23:16.596 --> 0:23:19.356 Like being in the parking lot was like being in 0:23:19.396 --> 0:23:22.476 the five style hotel though, like parking lot in Paris 0:23:22.516 --> 0:23:25.436 and you can't. Yeah, And the most important thing like 0:23:26.036 --> 0:23:30.676 the freedom, like the first time for so long that 0:23:30.716 --> 0:23:36.676 I feel free, like relax, you know, and I'm like, finally, 0:23:36.996 --> 0:23:40.116 this is what I ever wanted. Like you might look 0:23:40.156 --> 0:23:47.076 at that like he's horrible, but I mean, so far 0:23:47.836 --> 0:23:50.276 is one of the best moments of my life. The 0:23:50.316 --> 0:23:52.996 moment that you come with hope. I'm like, this is 0:23:53.036 --> 0:23:55.916 the opportunity that I've been wanted. Now I get it. 0:23:56.356 --> 0:23:59.956 You know, so the ball is ont of it. Yeah, 0:23:59.956 --> 0:24:02.876 and that's the first day. Yeah, I'm like, this is it. 0:24:03.516 --> 0:24:07.756 I always seek for this opportunity. I have it. I mean, 0:24:07.876 --> 0:24:11.876 it's not about where I'm sleeping now, but it's where 0:24:11.876 --> 0:24:15.716 I'm going to be sleeping. So you that coach who 0:24:15.756 --> 0:24:18.076 wasn't even the coach at the gym, he talks to 0:24:18.076 --> 0:24:20.556 the guy that owner on your behalf and yeah, he 0:24:20.596 --> 0:24:22.836 talked to the coach and then he called me. And 0:24:22.836 --> 0:24:25.996 then when I come there, he was always around trying 0:24:25.996 --> 0:24:29.836 to like help me, support me, give me close. I 0:24:29.876 --> 0:24:33.796 mean by the way, Like he was the the one 0:24:33.916 --> 0:24:37.876 that gave me my first apartment. Yeah, from the street. 0:24:37.916 --> 0:24:41.076 I went to his apartment. He has some apartment that 0:24:41.156 --> 0:24:44.676 he was putting in the rent and he gave me 0:24:45.196 --> 0:24:49.356 these two months and then I found my way. And 0:24:50.676 --> 0:24:53.556 he was the one that like gave me my He 0:24:53.676 --> 0:24:57.196 brought me to the sneaker shop and like choose one 0:24:57.236 --> 0:25:01.516 pair of sneaker, my first, my first sneaker in Paris. 0:25:02.036 --> 0:25:05.676 Like he was around a lot, you know, he was 0:25:05.716 --> 0:25:11.436 around a lot, helped me, being very supportive. What did 0:25:11.436 --> 0:25:13.596 they think of your boxing scale? He was the one 0:25:13.636 --> 0:25:16.756 telling me about MMA because like. He was also a 0:25:16.796 --> 0:25:19.516 big guy. So in the gym, I was sparring with 0:25:19.596 --> 0:25:22.316 him and he would tell me like how good my 0:25:22.436 --> 0:25:28.516 boxing is and how much potential I have. But if 0:25:28.636 --> 0:25:32.876 I transit into MMA, I'll be having the fastest income 0:25:33.356 --> 0:25:36.636 regarding my situation, you know. And that was the first 0:25:36.636 --> 0:25:39.676 time that I'm like that I've heard from MM. And 0:25:39.716 --> 0:25:42.836 then I'm like, what is MMA? He hadn't explained me. Yeah, 0:25:42.876 --> 0:25:45.276 I didn't know what was M me And this was 0:25:45.316 --> 0:25:48.556 like what sometime by the end of the end of 0:25:48.636 --> 0:25:56.596 June or early twenty twenty thirteen. Yeah, then keep pushing. 0:25:57.076 --> 0:25:59.316 I'm like, no, bro, I don't want any of that. 0:25:59.716 --> 0:26:03.676 I just want like, yeah, I like boxing, like sweet boxing, 0:26:04.076 --> 0:26:14.116 those wrestling staff ground I place. Yeah, what convinced your family? 0:26:14.276 --> 0:26:17.476 What convinced you? So the gym was close during the 0:26:17.556 --> 0:26:22.676 holiday or during August, the entire amount of August, so 0:26:22.916 --> 0:26:25.756 I was looking for some place to keep training. And 0:26:25.796 --> 0:26:30.796 then I asked the manager of the association that I 0:26:30.876 --> 0:26:34.036 want to go next door see if they have a 0:26:34.116 --> 0:26:36.636 boxing class day because I want to keep training. We 0:26:36.756 --> 0:26:40.556 have a good relationship. I can't talk on your behalf, 0:26:41.236 --> 0:26:44.356 you know. Then I'm like yes, So he went there, 0:26:45.276 --> 0:26:47.756 met a guy named the guy that was in the fronds, 0:26:47.796 --> 0:26:50.116