'It's just hard': Champ's beautiful tribute to late son after knockout win
Updated . First published at
A teary Francis Ngannou dedicated his dramatic PFL comeback win to his late son Kobe, who tragically died in April at just 15 months.
While continuing to grieve, Ngannou decided to return to MMA for the first time since January 2022, following a boxing foray.
The 38-year-old proceeded to destroy Renan Ferreira in the first round of their Battle of the Giants heavyweight clash in Riyadh.
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Ngannou dropped the giant Brazilian to the canvas and then delivered a flurry of frightening punches to the head to stop the fight.
"I can't think about anything (other) than my son Kobe," an emotional Ngannou then said on Stan Sport's coverage.
"I only did this fight because of him. I wanted to fight for him.
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"I hope they can remember his name because, without Kobe, we wouldn't be here tonight."
Ngannou this week revealed that Kobe's sudden death was caused by a brain malformation that had gone undiagnosed.
"It's been tough. Not only the training camp was tough but the past two days were very tough, full of emotion," he said post-fight.
An emotional Francis Ngannou. Stan
"Couldn't do anything without thinking about it. I mean, I'm trying to say I was a bit strong, telling myself everything to keep moving.
"But it's hard, man. It's just hard."
Ngannou won the newly minted PFL Super Fights heavyweight championship belt in Saudi Arabia.
"I just want to say, please remember my son, remember my son Kobe and then I dedicate this for him, this (is) for Kobe," he said.
PFL analyst Dan Hardy described Ngannou as "terrifying" and "king of the world" on Stan while Sean O'Connell labelled him as "the baddest man on the planet."
Ngannou said he was unsure what his next career step would be but felt he had more to offer the sport.
