What Francis Ngannou’s UFC triumph means for Cameroonians

Pride and joy in Cameroon after Francis Ngannou defeated Michael Stipe to be crowned the new UFC heavyweight champion.

Yaounde, Cameroon – Christel Youbi would not miss it for anything. Like many others in Cameroon, he was determined to stay up all night and watch his countryman Francis Ngannou take on American champion Stipe Miocic in Las Vegas for the UFC heavyweight title. The mixed martial arts (MMA) bout on Saturday was a rematch of a lopsided Miocic decision victory three years ago. But this time, things were different. Ngannou, whose knockout power is seemingly unmatched (he had won the previous four fights in a combined two minutes and 42 seconds), dominated the first round.