UFC up-and-comer Francis Ngannou dreams of one day fighting in France

Mixed-martial-arts was effectively banned by France's government last October following the introduction of legislation on combat sports

Francis Ngannou is one of France's emerging mixed-martial-arts talents (Reebok France)

There may be no UFC on our television screens this weekend, but it returns the weekend after when UFC on Fox 23 heads to Denver, Colorado.

The main event features bantamweight Julianna Pena taking on Valentina Shevchenko in a fight that could well determine Amanda Nunes’ next challenger for the UFC’s 135lbs women’s title.

And while that fight headlines the event, there are plenty of others on the undercard to pique our interest, particularly the bout between former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and the up-and-coming French talent, Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou, 30, has put together a streak of four straight wins since entering the UFC in 2015. Next weekend, he has the biggest fight of his career to date when he takes on Arlovski at the Pepsi Center.

The Frenchman has fast established himself as one of the hottest talents in his home country’s mixed-martial-arts scene, but one man not too far behind him is UFC newcomer, Tom Duquesnoy.

News broke this past week that two-weight BAMMA champion Duquesnoy had signed also for the UFC and would likely debut in April. Speaking last week, Ngannou welcomed the signing as great news and hailed Duquesnoy as a massive talent.

“This is really good news for [French fighters] because the more French talent we have in the UFC, the more opportunity we have to prove that we have great fighters in France,” Ngannou said.

“We have to train the government to recognise that MMA needs to be legalised in France and every time our fighters have success or given opportunities in an organisation like UFC it helps us.

“Duquesnoy is a huge prospect for French MMA and I think he will do very well in the UFC. I look forward to seeing his first fight and I hope he does well.”

Ngannou was referencing the fact that back in October last year, MMA was effectively banned in France under new regulations concerning combat sports held in the country.

The French MMA Federation quickly announced their intention to legally challenge the Ministry of Sports’ legislation and fight for the sport to be recognised as it is in almost every other country around the world.

Despite the regulations, Ngannou still dreams of fighting at a UFC event on home soil and in front of his home people.

“Of course, it is a big goal of mine to do this,” Ngannou said. “I think everyone that is a French MMA fighter has the dream of doing this and fight for our people. I’d love to be on the main card of a UFC event in Paris or somewhere else in France.

“It would be something great. It would be all over every magazine and I would be able to have all my friends and family come too. It is very hard for them when we fight in America because it costs a lot of money to travel. It would be great to have a full arena full of supporters.

“I think one day it will happen and when it does I want to be fighting.”