Francis Ngannou Says Win Over Curtis Blaydes Helped Pull Him From A Dark Place

In a message to his supporters, Francis Ngannou has said that his 45 second TKO victory over Curtis Blaydes this past weekend in Beijing, China helped pull him out of a dark place in his life after having lost two fights in row prior to that.

“I finally saw the light yesterday night at UFC Beijing by overcoming my darkness which dragged me deep to the bottom,” Ngannou wrote on Instagram.

“My fans, my family and all those people who trust and believe in me have got persecuted by haters and doubters but they didn’t give up and they kept supporting me and that’s where I found strength to overcome all this.

I wanna thank every single one of you, who once trusted me and who kept supporting me , who stayed beside me and who didn’t stumble.

I’m grateful to have any of you known and unknown by my side and in my life since this is all my life.

Thank you China and particularly Beijing for welcoming us and for all the love and energy you guys put in, it was an honor for me to perform for you guys such an amazing people and a great crowd. #theredemption #thepredator#ufcbeijing.”

It remains to be seen what will comes next for Ngannou, though after he also notched up a big win on the same card, Alistair Overeem has already made it clear he would like a rematch with ‘The Predator’, who brutally knocked him out in their first meeting last year.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.