Well, it's my great privilege to have my first interview today on our podcast
with the one and only the man from the UFC now big boxing star making
his name. It's Francis Nagano, the Predator, and Francis, welcome to
my show. I appreciate it. First of all, just how excited are
you for what is another huge boxing match in your career from BFF bro from
BFL, I think you're really the wrong way I see PFL. Yes,
sir, that's that's your well yeah, that's your new that's your new MMA
home. But people know you from your UFC days. That's true, that's
true. Fair enough anyway, So huge fight again, another big one,
just a few months after the last one. Yeah, another big one,
right, So, I mean it's great to get your get in the boxing
after all those little drama in the past. Gets here finally getting in the
boxing that was midsport and then get to the point that you know, Outsight
and the two best fighters in the world back to bad Will have done that
before nobody frances and got So I'm very happy about that. I feel very
you know, I feel that things are shifting up. I feel from the
to be the privileged to become the privilege in life. Well, it is
quite a remarkable story, as you said, to come into boxing and immediately
in your first two boxing matches fight the two biggest names in the heavyweight division,
uh and and and uh. You know, perhaps more after this,
depending on what happens, if it's your if it's what you want to do.
But you mentioned that was always your dream sport about boxing. What I'm
curious about because I being honest, I don't follow a lot of MMn you
know a little bit about you, but I've been reading up on you a
bit, but i haven't really seen the answer to this. If it was
your dream, what made you go into mixed martial arts instead of trying boxing
first as a professional opportunity. I started boxing, but again I was alone.
I started boxing. I was too too and then it took me five
years. I was in Cameroon, UH for like another four years they didn't
have any opportunity, and then I have to lift Cameroon to Europe. That
took me over a year to get in Europe and then get there was looking
an opportunity for boxing, where to box and this and then mm came around
and was quick and easy, you know, grab and go, and I
was doing it until some day even without me expecting I have the US had
the USC contract. Then I couldn't let that opportunity uh go, regarding my
my situation of the time. So I took the opportunity, but boxing was
always in the back of my head. And then again, when comes the
moment when it come the opportunity to take on boxing, I didn't hesitate to
cross over and dive into that opportunity. Well, when you took that opportunity
this past I told and got the chance to fight against the heavyweight champion,
Tyson Fury, I mean you know this, nobody gave you a real chance
to to win, much less really compete. I think you know among the
public, uh certainly among a lot of the media members. Obviously you had
a lot of belief in yourself. So I wonder what was it that coming
into the sport as a professional gave you the confidence that you could not only
compete, but in the eyes of a lot of people, Francis win against
Tyson Fury. Well, my life experience was what gave me the confident because
people are not giving me any chance. For me, it wasn't any in
you. It was just he has always been like that, you know,
they always write me out, uh so much that when the better on me,
I'm concerned, you know, always been there with the duck. So
coming into this fight, you was just already it was another another day in
the office, you know, another story, same thing. So when you
when you fought him, you did obviously very well. You knocked him down.
You ultimately lost a split decision. But I mentioned so many people thought
that you won, did you uh, even though you didn't get your hand
raised. I just wanted to know if you did you know, did it?
Did it? Did it? How did you feel about that? Like
mentally emotionally that you feel like maybe you got robbed in the fight, but
it certinly did impact your ability to make obviously a ton of fans in boxing,
to show what you could do in the ring. Obviously to land another
huge fight like you have. And I'll mention, uh, you know,
obviously this fight against Anthony Joshua in Riad, Saudi Arabia on pay per view
and PPV dot com his own pay per view, Like were you bothered by
that or were you just sort of shook it off? Uh? You know,
I shook it off. Life is not always fair. As soon as
you understand that you're going to be doing great in life, you know,
And then I knew even getting dead. That's why I wasn't even so bright.
I knew that I was coming into this new sport. Every nobody was
counting on me. I'm even sure that some Georges wasn't watching the fight.
They have the scoreboards ready even before the fight started, you know, I
or sometimes they wake up sometime in between the fight. I'm like them,
the fight is still on and they just decide to put something on the paper.
But there wasn't watching at all, right, So again it's the story
of my life, always been count out. And I knew that he wasn't
going to be easy in the term of like just stepping into a boxing and
then just being in everybody hard and then just expecting to be treated right by
every by everybody. So when you when you come into the fight against Tyson
Theory, obviously it's kind of snuck up on people. I Mean, they
knew who Francis Nana was, but I had no concept of what you might
be able to do inside the boxing ring. Clearly, everybody saw what you
did so, I would I would think that you're not sneaking up on Anthony
Joshua. They they realize what you're capable of. I'm sure that they've watched
your fight against Tyson Fury. Does that make it maybe like a little more
difficult going into this fight. It's no longer like a stealth operation. They
know you, they've watched you box. They only have ten rounds to look
at, but they're gonna be more prepared, perhaps than Tyson Fury was.
Then it's up to me to find another way to be sneaky. You know,
if they're waiting into the left, then I'll come to the right.
If they are waiting into the right, I'll come to the left. Listen,
I understand that. I know because you have the experience now in both
sports at the highest level, between boxing and mixed martial arts. I wonder
which do you enjoy doing more. Well, First of all, you have
to understand that boxing has always been my first dream, but it's complicated because
MMA. I've been into MMA for what the past ten years, and I'm
very comfortable in MM so regards less boxing is tough for me, orme is
boxing is still tough for me. And mme in MM, I'm more confident,
you know, I know everything in my body mechanics is they are there.
Everything is there. Not that it's easier, but it's less complicated.
It's less stressful, even on my body. That might sound crazy, or
it's more that on your knee and everything, but it's so physically easy for
me than than boxing because my body mechanics is adjusting to the boxing. When
you fought against Tyson Theory, I wonder you know, do you think it
was it was more because you are a lot better than maybe many people thought
you might be, or it was part of it because maybe he didn't take
you seriously because he wasn't as prepared as he should have been a professional athlete.
Well, I think he must have in prepare. But first of all,
the most important element was that people I was better than what people expected.
First of all, people many people wasn't even expecting anything. Who was
hilarious for a guy that is even though I never did a boxing was a
compassport added a compassport champion in another combats sport, right, So I think
that was the thing, because honestly, I don't think that was a great
performance. I don't think that was awesome performance, But I think he was
just enough to surprise people and they were like, wow, you know,
but I believe that I can do better than that. I can do way
better than that. Right, you were the greatest performance that you can find
in boxing, but you were just like, Well, for a guy that
wasn't expecting anything from him, that's great. What are you expecting from Joshua?
I mean, he's obviously a much different type of opponent, different type
of style fighter, not as tall as Tyson Fury. Like I said,
you're not sneaking up on anybody this time. So what are you expecting from
the former heavyweight champion? Well, expecting him to come, prepare and come
to the four war, because yes, he have seen me already, and
then he knows that he has a lot. There's a lot under line here.
There's a lot for him to lose here, So it's gonna come with
everything that he has. One thing I'm very interested in is you're obviously making
a huge amount of money in this fight. You made a huge amount of
money in the fight against Tyson Fury, as as I've heard you say in
interviews, you know you got the bag. You know, after a lot
of time in a in a MMA where you didn't make the kind of huge
money I said, I fumbled the back. I fumbled the back. Well
you didn't you that's not what you said. That's what other suns somebody else
said that you bumbled the bag. Uh. But I just wonder, you
know, how how just amazing is it to you that you could have such
a storied career in mm A. Uh, you know, make money,
but come into boxing in your two fights, from what I understand, anyway,
eclipse your entire career earnings in mm A in one fight, much less
the second fights you're gonna have. Well, I think we don't. I
would not use this to like bash what mm have given to me, you
know, the opportunity, because the reason why we're here is because of my
MMA career. And then there's also a lot of boxing fighters that they're not
even making what I was making in MMA, and also not because I have
a we have some situation in mm which mean about that was the standard,
right, that's not the standard. If I would to fight in the p
F after if I would have fight uh in the in mm after my last
fight, that was the moment that I was basically manifesting if I would have
to fight in MMA, I would have still make a lot of money,
right, because even from my last fight, I turned down a lot of
money. The money that I have never made, I turned down because I
was standing by something. I had some principle that I didn't want to break
it up. Right. So the fact that I didn't have the money is
not because the money wasn't there or because the money wasn't offered, is because
I swish and then I get to that specific point and it was a moment
that I stepped into boxing. But again, if I were to fight in
MM, in any MMA organization, I would have made it make a lot
of money as well. All right, So let me then wrap up with
this. You mentioned my MMA. Last question for you, it's been announced
by PFL that after this fight against Anthony Joshua in a boxing match, that
you're supposed to return to have your first ever PFL fight against the winner of
their big show that they just recently had in Saudi Arabia against I forget the
guy's name who won the ren and Ferrera right, who who won that that
big match of the d So is that your plan to go back and do
that PFL fight next, and do you plan like I think of Claressa Shields
and boxing. She's also was on that card with the PFL, and she's
been shuttling back and forth between the two sports. Is that your intention to
have this fight with aj, go do that fight in PFL, maybe another
one whatever, and then eventually come back in boxing again and basically make two
two sports as a combat star does a As far as fighting in the MMA,
yes, that's my uh, that's my uh, my goal to combine
a little bit, because I think I still have to I still have a
few fighting MMA, but after this one. The understatement from fighting ren and
Ferrera after this fight is a potential option because he depends how this fight goes.
Because this fight is my lead into it on this better fight wish I
think will be back to back. I will not let this after this fight.
Will if I win this fight, I'm going to fight for that on
disbut I will not step out and go fight and b babb had it me
some jury or something before go fight it on Steers. I think I'll go
straight to fight on Steer. So I'll tell you what, if you can
go back and forth and get those big megga fights. It's a beautiful thing
to have options, and you obviously are a man that has options. Francis,
thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it. I
wish your best of luck. Let me tell you've made a big splash in
boxing, and having not known your story and followed what's occurred, I can't
help but be a fan. And I'm not just trying to kiss beer in
here. Thank you. I appreciate you, brother, Thank you so much.
Fis good luck for you.