UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou thinks the French media only embrace him when it’s convenient for them.
Ngannou is fresh off his incredible comeback against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. He ended up earning a unanimous decision victory by utilizing his wrestling, and not his trademark striking.
Ngannou and Gane were once teammates at MMA Factory in France before Ngannou left for the United States to join Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Despite this, he has still accumulated quite the following in France and has a vocal fanbase.
But his relationship with the media in France has been a completely different story. During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Ngannou explained his issues with the media overseas.
Francis Ngannou Explains Recent Exchange With French Reporter
“It’s (attitude of the French media) because I was fighting a French guy,” Ngannou said. “That’s how it happens in France. In France, when you lost, you are Cameroonian; when you win, you’re French-Cameroonian or French. And this time I was fighting a real French guy, so they built up the story of the villain and the good guy. I mean, it’s just media. After the fight, a lot of them, they just changed their mind. Some people just wrote back the article, like, ‘A French-Cameroonian retained his title,’ all that kind of stuff. It’s the media, you can’t control that stuff.
“But regardless of that, I know that I have a huge fanbase in France, I have people in France who love me and that’s all that matters. That’s the people who I represent. In France, my fans, my friends, those who even became my family, you know, that’s why I’m happy about France.”
Ngannou suffered a significant knee injury leading up to UFC 270 and is expected to miss at least nine months. He could possibly return later this year against contenders such as Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
Who do you want to see Francis Ngannou fight next?