Francis Ngannou was ready to walk away from fighting after the tragic loss of his 15-month-old son Kobe, but then the former UFC heavyweight champion realized that the tragedy could lead to a deeper meaning.
Ngannou makes his promotional debut this Saturday in the main event of the PFL’s Battle of the Giants pay-per-view card against dangerous knockout artist Renan Ferreira. “The Predator” suffered the heartbreaking loss in April following a two-fight run in the boxing ring. After admitting he thought about hanging up the gloves — which would be completely understandable — Ngannou wants the loss to serve a higher purpose.
“[My purpose is] to make this fight meaningful,” Ngannou told MMA Fighting. “This fight was most likely not to happen. I was most likely not to fight this year, or never. But I want to make a purpose of things that happen. Give it a purpose.
“Instead of using it as an excuse of giving up, maybe use it as a purpose to continue, give it more sense, give it more reason, make things more meaningful, more impactful. I’m saying that about the loss of my son. After that, I really considered dropping everything, and one of the only reasons why I didn’t do that was because thinking about it, he would’ve been like he was the one taking me out, making me quit, which is not a responsibility that, I think, of his to carry. That is my responsibility.”
Ngannou competes in the MMA cage for the first time in nearly three years. In his most recent mixed martial arts appearance, Ngannou successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. The 38-year-old went on and made the decision to leave the UFC and sign with PFL, before getting two massive opportunities in the boxing ring against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. After losing both, Ngannou is now set for his first walk to the PFL Smart Cage to battle for the PFL Superfight heavyweight title.
With a heavy heart, and a newfound motivation, Ngannou plans to make Kobe proud no matter how the chips fall on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
“The only thing I can do is make a purpose of his existence, or of this loss,” Ngannou said. “You know, make it make some sense, trying to write his name in a better way for him to be remembered.”
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