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Francis Ngannou’s presence at the second edition of the Cameroon Ballon d’Or ceremony took MMA fans by surprise. The Cameroonian Football Association FECAFOOT, organized the ceremony to reward footballers from the country. Cameroon's first lady, Mrs. Chantal Biya was the guest of honor.
FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o, Aboudi Onguene and Roger Milla were among the other notable Cameroonians present for the two-hour-long ceremony. It was broadcast live on the country’s national television channel, CRTV. Mrs. Chantel Biya presented the Ballon d’Or trophy to Emmanuel Mahop in Ngannou’s presence.
The former UFC heavyweight champion posted pictures of the ceremony on his Instagram account and praised his country’s efforts to support football:
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“What an amazing night yesterday at the Cameroon BALLON D'OR!!! Thank you to the FECAFOOT president @samueletoo for giving new life to our national team, to the local competitions, and to get Cameroonians excited again around the game.”
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MMA fans were happy to see Ngannou at the forefront of a major sporting event in his home country after a lifetime of hard work and commitment to overcome hardships. Meanwhile, others took jabs at the concept of the Cameroon Ballon d'Or:
@iliy_562 jokingly commented:
“Surprise they didn't give Messi this award too.”
Other fans wrote:
“The only man who doesn't care about belts... Who just wants to beat people, avoid getting beat up, beat people, take some rest, and go home”
“Another kindhearted and great man from Africa.”
“Francis ur the f******* GOAT.”
“Our legend. We love you.”
“The strongest man in the entire solar system currently.”
“Our true Nubian Kings of Honor. King Etoo. King Ngannou.”
“Francis looking like money and I love it.”
“Francis deserves everything. But interesting thing; when you have nothing, no one gives you anything, but when you have everything, they give you even more…”
"Cameroon can't do anything or name any special things on their own, they must copy France."
Francis Ngannou extends his dominance in second sport with induction into the official WBC rankings
Francis Ngannou climbed the highest mountain in the MMA realm when he became the UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on October 28, 2023.
Although the Cameroonian fighter lost the contest via split decision, he gave ‘The Gypsy King’ one of the toughest fights of his career and also scored the only knockdown of the fight.
WBC introduced ‘The Predator’ as the No.10 ranked fighter in the official heavyweight rankings. The decision has been the subject of much debate in the boxing community. However, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman defended the rating committee’s decision to accommodate the former UFC champion. Meanwhile, Ngannou seems intent on competing in both MMA and boxing going forward.
