“That’s The Only Way That Could End”-Francis Ngannou Manages To Stay Motivated For May 9th

Francis Ngannou says it is very hard to keep motivated through these tough times. He has faced a lot of struggles with keeping himself on track.

He was originally supposed to fight Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 249, scheduled on the 28th of March. But that was postponed to the 18th of April because of the global pandemic. The heavyweight clash, set for UFC 249, was once again postponed just a week before the date. Disney and ESPN urged Dana White to call the event off, to which he obliged.

Now, Francis Ngannou hoping to make the fight on the 9th of May. Through the repeated postponements, Ngannou kept training. He tried to remain focused despite facing setbacks every time.

While in conversation with MMA Fighting, he said, “It’s been very exhausting, very frustrating, [mentally]. It’s been very hard to keep motivation and go out there every day. 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. When you train for a fight, it’s different than just training to stay in shape. So even when you don’t have that target, that goal, you still have to be motivated to go. That’s the hard part of it.”

Francis Ngannou is ready for the 9th of May

He opened up about what a rollercoaster of a ride this has been. Ngannou said, “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. 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.”

Francis Ngannou has now signed on to fight on May 9th. But similar promises were made for the 18th of April. He said, “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. It’s awkward, it’s weird, it’s not the best conditions that you would like to be in, but at the end of the day, it’s still some sort of challenge that you can take, so you take it.”

He has been away from the sport for 11 months now. He needs to make a return. And its time. The stage is set for his return. He says he can see the end. He knows. He’s absolutely certain he will come out victorious against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. “Every time that I think about it,” Ngannou said, “that’s the only way that it could end.”

Who do you think will come out the winner on the 9th of May?