Joe McConnell
Francis Ngannou has revealed how the death of his young son has left him “helpless and vulnerable” but will use the tragedy as his “biggest motivation” ahead of a fight against Renan Ferreira.
Ngannou said in a social media post in April that his 15-month-old son, Kobe, had passed away, prompting an outpouring of condolences from fellow mixed martial arts and boxing fighters.
While trying to process the loss, the 37-year-old has decided to return to MMA, but this time his priority is commemorating Kobe rather than pursuing personal success.
Ngannou said Vscek: “This is not a great time for me. I need some activities. I need to stay active to be in an area where I belong. I also need to continue, to fight for my son, for Kobe.
“The last few months have not been the easiest. I think they have been by far the most difficult. [moment] in life. I lost my son. For a while, I thought I shouldn’t even do this or wondered if I should do this or fight again.
“But I want to do something good in his memory. Not be the reason why I should quit, but be a motivation and also fight for him.”
Ngannou wants to commemorate late son when he faces Ferreira
Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, admits he struggled with an overwhelming sense of pain.
“It’s not that I came close to retiring. It’s just that in these circumstances you think, you have different thoughts,” he said.
“You see how fragile life is. You feel hurt, you feel helpless. You feel useless. You are questioning your existence, the importance of all this, or life in general.
“It’s not that I thought about retiring or anything like that. It’s just that you have to deal with something that wasn’t in the picture.
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Francis Ngannou believes his PFL debut opponent, Renan Ferreira, represents his toughest test to date as he prepares for his MMA return on October 19
“I think it’s easy to overcome obstacles, overcome life’s challenges, it’s not when it’s your situation. But this is something different, it’s something that hurts your soul.
“I wouldn’t compare it to anything I know or have experienced. It’s completely different. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but it’s different and suddenly you feel like you haven’t been able to do anything with your life.
“You haven’t gotten through it all. You feel more vulnerable than ever. This is different.”
Ngannou confirmed his return to MMA with PFL CEO Peter Murray
On October 19, Ngannou will face Renan ‘Problem’ Ferreira for the Professional Fighters League Super Fight belt.
“I just have to find out by fighting,” Ngannou said, when asked if he can get back to having the mentality of an MMA star.
“There’s only one way to find out, but I also believe that there is a different motivation in my son now.
“I fought for many reasons, but I don’t think I ever had the most important reason, the most important purpose for fighting, at least until now.”
After dominating MMA as the sport’s heavyweight champion, Ngannou made a surprise switch to boxing and knocked out Tyson Fury in a controversial points defeat before suffering a brutal knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua.
But Ngannou is back in the familiar environment of the MMA cage, having recently returned to training
“I’ve been doing mixed martial arts for over 10 years, so yeah, it’s home. It’s where I feel most comfortable. Where I’m used to, where I understand the most,” he said.
“Rankings are made by people and yes, the sport is moving.
“It’s not for me to judge, but yes, I think this meeting can serve to remind me of who I am.”
The co-main event between Ngannou and Ferreira will feature the greatest female MMA fighter of all time, Cris Cyborg, who will take on two-division PFL champion Larissa Pacheco in a super featherweight bout.
