It doesn’t take long to realize Francis Ngannou would honestly prefer not to talk about his journey from Cameroon to France. It’s clear he doesn’t particularly enjoy recounting his decision to escape a life of abject poverty in hopes of finding something – anything, really – better in a foreign setting.

A hulking figure, the 6-4, 250-pound Ngannou normally speaks in a quiet voice that drops to nearly inaudible levels when he’s pressed to remember the trouble that drove him to seek a new path.

“I left Cameroon just to try and have a life, to survive,” Ngannou, who fights at Saturday’s UFC event in Chicago, told MMAjunkie. “When I was in Cameroon, I just didn’t see a way. I could survive, but that’s about it.”

Ngannou did odd jobs to make ends meet, but in a nation where the average citizen takes home the equivalent of approximately $1,300 per year, he knew the prospects of a bright future were slim.

“I was struggling,” the 29-year-old says.

And so Ngannou left it all behind. Fueled by a love for watching a prime Mike Tyson, Ngannou thought boxing might provide a way out of poverty. But France didn’t end up being that much better, if Ngannou is being honest. That is, until three years ago, when he wandered into Paris’ MMA Factory.

“My colleague called me and said there was a huge guy asking to train in the gym,” MMA Factory owner Fernand Lopez told MMAjunkie. “The next day, I got to the gym, and Francis was there. I talked with him, and I gave him two bags full of clothes and stuff like gear and gloves, and I said, ‘Please train MMA.’

“The very same day, he did an MMA class for beginners. He didn’t know anything about MMA, but the way he was moving and the way he was thinking – he was so smart and such a fast learner, not to mention so incredibly strong. I knew if he kept training, he could be a champion.”

What Ngannou did during the training session excited Lopez. What the heavyweight did immediately afterward made Lopez realize Ngannou was going to need more than just coaching.

“He asked to keep his bags in the gym because outside wasn’t safe for him,” Lopez said. “That’s the moment I knew he was homeless. I offered for him to sleep in the gym. Meanwhile, we started to work on everything to get him a decent place to live.”

Ngannou dreamed of being a boxing champion, but with Lopez’s help, he turned his attention to MMA. As the coach recalls, once Ngannou made his pro debut in November 2013, the transformation was complete.

“He just fell in love with MMA,” Lopez said.

Despite losing a decision in his second pro bout, Ngannou rebounded with four consecutive stoppage victories to earn his way into the sport’s premier organization, UFC, in December 2015. He’s already notched a pair of knockout victories for the promotion and put the heavyweight division on alert.

Along the way, Ngannou realized that his journey could benefit his fellow Cameroonians, as well. Despite just barely making it out of poverty himself, Ngannou began to set up charities in his native country in hopes of giving a chance to those who weren’t as fortunate as he’s been.

“I want to give some opportunity for children like me who dream of this sport and don’t have an opportunity like me,” Ngannou said. “The last time I was in Cameroon, I brought a lot of materials for boxing and MMA to open a gym. Now I just bought a big space to start the gym, as well.

“A lot of children now in Cameroon, because of me, they have a dream. They say, ‘I will be a champion in MMA. I will do boxing like Francis,’ because they saw me when I was young. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t have any opportunity. And today, they see me, and they are dreaming. They are thinking that something is possible. Even when they are so poor, something is possible in life. … It’s not easy. It’s so hard, but it’s possible.

On Saturday, Ngannou (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) looks for his third straight UFC victory when he meets Bojan Mihajlovic (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the FOX-televised main card of UFC on FOX 20 at United Center in Chicago.

For Ngannou, fighting on network television for the first time provides an opportunity for a breakout performance. Currently just outside a top-15 ranking in the division, he welcomes the challenges that would certainly follow. After all, there are dreams to be fulfilled, both in France and Cameroon.

“I used to dream big, and now the opportunities to fulfill my dreams are coming quickly,” Ngannou said. “My goal now is to be the heavyweight champion.”

For more on UFC on FOX 20, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.