What is Francis Ngannou's Net Worth?
Francis Ngannou is a mixed martial artist and boxer from Cameroon who has a net worth of $15 million. Francis Ngannou competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In January of 2022, he became the UFC Heavyweight Champion by unanimous decision after defeating Ciryl Gane. In May 2023 Francis signed a contract with the Professional Fighters League to compete in Pay-Per-View MMA events. The deal allows him to compete outside of the PFL in other sports like boxing. On October 28, 2023 Francis fought Tyson Fury in a boxing match. He earned $10 million for the fight. Ngannou is also involved in philanthropy, and runs Cameroon's first-ever MMA gym.
Early Life
Francis Ngannou was born on September 5, 1986 in the town of Batié in Cameroon. He was impoverished growing up, and had meager formal education. When Ngannou was six, his parents divorced, and he was subsequently sent to live with his aunt. At the age of 10, he began working in a sand quarry to earn money. Although he was pressured to join a number of street gangs, Ngannou resisted and chose to channel his energy into the pursuit of boxing.
Career Beginnings
When he was 22, Ngannou started to train in boxing; however, after a year, he had to stop because of illness. After working some odd jobs over the subsequent years, he chose to travel to Paris, France to pursue his professional boxing career. Initially, Ngannou was impeded by a two-month jail sentence in Spain for illegally crossing the border. When he finally made it to Paris, he ended up living in homelessness for a while. Eventually, Ngannou was introduced to Cameroonian mixed martial artist Fernand Lopez and the MMA Factory, a Paris gym. Lopez provided Ngannou with some MMA gear, and let him train and sleep at the Factory for no cost.
Ngannou made his MMA career debut in November of 2013. He mostly fought in the French promotion 100% Fight, but also took part in other regional promotions in Europe. During this time, Ngannou posted a 5-1 record.
Ultimate Fighting Championship, 2015-2020
After signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ngannou made his UFC debut in December of 2015 against another newcomer, Luis Henrique. Ngannou won the fight in the second round via a knockout. His next fight came against newcomer Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 86 in April of 2016; this time, he won via TKO following a doctor stoppage in the second round. A few months later, Ngannou went up against yet another newcomer, Bojan Mihajlović, whom he defeated via TKO in the first round. In his next fight at UFC Fight Night 102 in December, Ngannou took down Anthony Hamilton via submission in the first round, and received his first UFC Performance of the Night bonus. He continued his success streak in early 2017, beating Andrei Arlovski via TKO at UFC on Fox 23 and earning his second Performance of the Night bonus.
Ngannou had the highest-profile fight of his career thus far in December of 2017 at UFC 218, facing off against veteran Alistair Overeem. In the memorable bout, Ngannou defeated Overeem in the first round via a knockout that is widely considered to be one of the most brutal in the sport's history. Following this fight, he signed a new eight-fight contract with the UFC. He went on to lose his next fight in early 2018 at UFC 220, where Stipe Miocic took the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Ngannou lost again in July at UFC 226 against Derrick Lewis. In November, he bounced back to defeat Curtis Blaydes via TKO at UFC Fight Night 141. Next, in February of 2019, Ngannou headlined UFC on ESPN 1, and beat Cain Velasquez via knockout in the first round. In June, he took down Junior dos Santos at UFC on ESPN 3, and earned another Performance of the Night honor. Following multiple event postponements in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ngannou returned in May at UFC 249 to defeat Jairzinho Rozenstruik via knockout, which he accomplished in just 20 seconds in the first round.
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
UFC Heavyweight Champion
At UFC 260 in March of 2021, Ngannou faced Stipe Miocic in a rematch for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Ultimately, Ngannou won the fight via knockout in the second round; he also earned yet another Performance of the Night title. Later, in early 2022, Ngannou went up against interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 to determine the undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Ngannou won the fight by unanimous decision, giving him the first decision win of his career.
Professional Fighters League
In May 2023 Francis signed a multi-year exclusive deal with MMA league Professional Fighters League, taking him out of the UFC. His deal gave him equity ownership in the PFL's Africa league, 7-figure per-fight guarantee, a share of each fight's profits and guarantees that his opponents would earn a minimum of $2 million per fight. He also reserved the right to fight in other non-MMA sports, like boxing.
Tyson Fury Match
In July 2023 it was revealed that Francis reached a deal to fight Tyson Fury in a professional boxing match to take place in October 2023 in Saudi Arabia. It has been reported that Tyson could earn $50 million from the fight, depending on Pay Per View success. Francis earned $10 million from the fight, which he ended up losing by decision.
Film Career
In 2021, Ngannou made a cameo appearance in the action film sequel "F9." The next year, he appeared as himself in the reality comedy film "Jackass Forever."
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Due to his global travels as a mixed martial artist, Ngannou speaks a number of different languages, including Ngemba and French. After signing on with the UFC, he also learned English.
On the philanthropic side of things, Ngannou established his own Francis Ngannou Foundation, which runs the first-ever MMA gym in Cameroon. The gym is intended to provide a space for young people to not only train, but to feel a sense of care and belonging.
