Francis Ngannou has done one of the longest training camps of his mixed martial arts and his efforts clearly paid off.
The former heavyweight title contender is set to face fellow knockout artist, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, at the revamped UFC 249 fight card this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida.
This intriguing heavyweight bout – a potential title eliminator – was originally slated as the main event of the March 8 UFC Fight Night event but it has been moved to the May 9 card as the promotion needed to adjust its schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been very exhausting, very frustrating, [mentally],” Ngannou said about the uncertainties of the fight (via MMA Fighting).
“It’s been very hard to keep motivation and go out there everyday. Go out there and train without knowing if the fight is going to happen. [You’re] always suspicious – maybe it’s going to happen or not, and to keep the same intensity for the fight.“
Crossed Fingers
After three cancellations, ‘The Predator now hopes everything will go as plan on Saturday.
“Between every cancellation and the new schedule, there’s always a day where you’re kind of like the fight is postponed, so you drop everything, and in your mind, you don’t know what’s next,” Ngannou said.
“Then a few days after that, it gets rescheduled for that date, and you have put your sh*t together and go out there.”
“Cause once again, that won’t be an excuse if you don’t perform out there.”
“Right now, after three cancellations, it’s very tough to be confident about something. You just hope, cross your fingers and hopefully that happens. But you don’t know exactly.”
All Set
Continuing, the 33-year old Cameroonian shared his recent training camp ‘was not the best conditions that you would like to be in’ but he takes the challenge to go through it as he is looking for a knockout against Rozenstruik.
“There’s nothing normal about this time – we just adapt and try to adjust everything. Honestly, there’s nothing normal about this kind of training camp. It’s all awkward and weird.”
“The reality is that things are not what they were before. You just have to make it work somehow. I think we are all going through this. This is not especially for you.”
“So all the fighters are dealing with this. Maybe someone has a better way of dealing with this, or they adjusted very fast, everyone has to go through this.”
Ahead of UFC 249, Ngannou flaunted his ripped physique, showing he is ready to go for the kill this Saturday.
Check out the photos below:
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Francis Ngannou)