UFC champion turned boxer Francis Ngannou is training up to nine hours a day and eating ‘clean, exotic foods’ ahead of his blockbuster fight this week, his trainer revealed to DailyMail.com.
Ngannou, 37, will face former British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on March 8 and has spent the last few months training two or three times a day for up to three hours each.
Predator’s head trainer, two-time world boxing champion Dewey Cooper, told DailyMail.com that Ngannou is “very disciplined” and “self-motivated” heading into the all-star showdown after surprising the world with a stellar performance in his debut in boxing. against the undefeated Tyson Fury.
“It’s going to be electric,” he said.
And while Ngannou has a varied palate, the wrestler is an “exotic eater” who prefers “very clean and gourmet” meals filled with fish, chicken, vegetables and a rainbow of spices.
But the 6-foot-4, 257-pound heavyweight likes to cheat with a slice of cheesecake every once in a while.
Francis Ngannou (left) with his trainer, two-time world boxing champion Dewey Cooper. Cooper said The Predator’s next fight “will be electric”
Ngannou is preparing for his next big fight this weekend against British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
The matchup comes several months after Ngannou was defeated by British heavyweight Tyson Fury, which Cooper insists was an unfair ruling.
“He honestly beat Tyson Fury for the judges to take him away from us,” he said. ‘No one does what he did. “No one expected him to even compete with the great Tyson Fury that night.”
‘We had a grueling camp for Tyson Fury. He worked very hard. And it will be the same for this fight.”
‘He will have fought two of the three best heavyweight boxers in the world in his first two fights. This has never been done before. That’s an enigma.
‘He feels confident. He feels good. He knows he can last the full 30 minutes of the fight.
Cooper said he feels uniquely equipped to lead Ngannou to victory, calling himself a “lifelong martial artist.”
He began his 30+ year fighting career with Muay Thai kickboxing at the age of nine, followed by professional fighting in both boxing and kickboxing.
This included 25 professional boxing fights and three professional MMA matchups. He also won two world championships and was inducted into the Masters Hall of Fame in 2008.
“I’m like a Renaissance man when it comes to fighting,” he said. “I was honestly born to do this.”
‘This is truly my passion. “I don’t think there are many guys who have more energy and are more motivated than me.”
Cooper and Ngannou trained earlier this week to prepare for Ngannou’s fight against Anthony Joshua.
This upcoming matchup comes months after Ngannou suffered a loss against Tyson Fury (on the ground), which Cooper insists was an unfair ruling.
Cooper is also the president of Team Battle Leaguethe first professional combat sports league featuring male and female fighters.
Cooper said Ngannou has been in a 12-week training camp since the fight with Fury, which includes two or three training sessions a day, six days a week. These can last from one hour and 45 minutes to three hours.
‘He’s doing a lot of exercise right now. “We’re trying to work our hardest right now to really load the body and get it ready,” Cooper said.
These include high-intensity combat exercises to increase your stamina and stamina. On conditioning days, there are “a series of exercises you have to do.”
Many of Ngannou’s conditioning moves are “high-frequency explosive plyometric exercises.”
According to Harvard University, plyometrics involves short, intense bursts of activity focused on developing strength, coordination, agility, and flexibility. They typically target the muscles of the lower body.
Common examples of plyometric exercises include lateral jumps, jump rope, and forward jumps.
When he’s not exercising, Ngannou eats a mix of lean meats, fish, vegetables and spices, Cooper told DailyMail.com.
Cooper noted that Ngannou’s routine often involves medicine ball pushes, push-ups, box jumps, squats, ladder exercises, high-knee exercises, hills and lateral jumps.
“There are so many things we do,” he said. “It’s a very, very exhausting regimen. Not many people can train like he trains.”
‘Every day is important. Every workout is crucial.”
Between training sessions, Ngannou focuses on helping his body recover with stretches, muscle massages and a dip in the jacuzzi.
The length of the training camp depends on when the fights are announced. For example, the preparation camp for the Fury fight lasted approximately 16 weeks, while this camp lasted 12 weeks.
When he’s not working out, Ngannou eats a mix of lean meats, fish, vegetables and spices.
Lean meats like chicken and turkey are crucial for building and maintaining muscle as they are packed with protein.
When protein is consumed, the body breaks it down into amino acids, which are used to repair and rebuild muscle tissue that is damaged during intense exercise.
Additionally, a 2021 study in the nutrition magazine discovered that compounds in dark leafy greens called nitrates improved vascular and muscle function.
Spices like turmeric have also been shown to soothe muscle pain and stress.
Cooper also hinted that Ngannou often chooses traditional Cameroonian dishes, such as oxtail, rice bowls with black beans and mango, and fufu, which is made from cassava root, a starchy tuber.
“He’s a very exotic eater,” Cooper said, nothing to say that Ngannou prefers “clean, gourmet” food.
Cooper did not specify how many calories Ngannou eats each day, but it could be significantly higher than the generally recommended daily limit of 2,000 calories to maintain his 6-foot-4, 257-pound physique.
Joshua’s team revealed in 2018, for example, that the fighter consumes between 3,000 and 5,000 calories, depending on how close he is to a fight.
However, the massive heavyweight Fury, at 6ft 9in and 265lb, only gets between 2,700 and 3,200 calories, his nutritionist George Lockwood previously told DailyMail.com.
‘You’re burning a lot of calories. “A lot of energy is being drained,” Cooper said.
Ngannou, however, likes to cheat every now and then with a piece of cheesecake, although he is largely “very responsible” during camp.
‘This is hard work. But no matter how you feel, it’s what you do,” Cooper said. “And he pushes hard, and we do the best we can to motivate him and push him hard.”
“He’s got the right mindset, the right personality and that’s why he’s so fantastic.”