Francis Ngannou has put his demons to sleep – now he must do the same to Curtis Blaydes at UFC Beijing
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Francis “The Predator” Ngannou wants no more talk of any demons that might have haunted him following a two-loss skid that collapsed the aura of invincibility that had risen around the UFC heavyweight star.
The Cameroonian-Frenchman says those demons are now as done and dusted as the 10 fighters he’d wasted no time in battering his way through as he rose rapidly through the UFC’s ranks, before fortune and form then turned against him.
“It’s not just sport or the story of my career, it is the story of my life,” Ngannou said on Thursday in Beijing. “I’ve won, I’ve lost, and then I have found my way.”
Come Saturday night and UFC Fight Night 141 at Beijing’s Cadillac Arena and the 32-year-old Ngannou (11-3) faces his moment of truth against another rising star in American Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (10-1, one no contest).
Win and the Ngannou show is back on the road that many had predicted would lead – inevitably – to the heavyweight title. Lose, and, well, Ngannou doesn’t even want to consider what might lie ahead.