"From sandpit money to getting money like sand in Riyadh" - Francis Ngannou's 'presidential suite' reflection of life makes MMA Twitter emotional

There are a lot of 'rags to riches' stories in combat sports, but few have touched the hearts of more fans than Francis Ngannou.

To MMA fans, the story of 'The Predator' is well known. Ngannou grew up in a very impoverished environment, leading to him receiving almost no education and spending the majority of his youth working in a sand-mining organization to help pay for his family. Along the way, he was introduced to mixed martial arts and quite literally punched his ticket to fame and stardom.

Ngannou ultimately became the UFC heavyweight champion but left that journey to pursue another goal: boxing. Ngannou is currently scheduled to box heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Saturday, October 28.

Recently, Ngannou has been understandably reflective and appreciative of his life's journey and shared his thoughts with the world on Twitter.

Ngannou will enter the fight as a huge underdog to the undefeated Fury who has already cemented his legacy as one of the best heavyweights of all time. But from Ngannou's perspective and in the eyes of many fans, he has already won. Most MMA fans have shown support and respect towards Ngannou's journey in response.

Despite the appearance of a rivalry, Fury has also shown support of Ngannou on Twitter. 'The Gypsy King' has bought into the narrative of their boxing fight being the 'Battle of the Baddest.'

With Jon Jones defending the UFC heavyweight championship just a couple of weeks after Ngannou's fight with Fury, a lot of fans also wonder what could have been.

Jones will be defending the belt against former champion Stipe Miocic — whom Francis Ngannou knocked out to claim the belt himself — but with Ngannou now out of the UFC, the long-desired super fight appears almost impossible to happen.

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Fan reactions on X to Francis Ngannou's post