Tragically losing his 15-month-old son, being ‘robbed’ of a huge upset win over Tyson Fury and suffering a brutal knockout defeat by Anthony Joshua – inside Francis Ngannou’s devastating 12 months ahead of his MMA return
Francis Ngannou will return to mixed martial arts for the first time in almost three years when he takes on Brazil’s Renan Ferreira for the inaugural bout. PFL Heavyweight Superfight Championship on Saturday night.
The highly anticipated showdown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will be Ngannou’s first fight inside the cage since defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022.
But it has hardly been a quiet break for Ngannou in the intervening 34 months, with the Cameroon-born star making the switch to boxing and facing challenges inside and outside the ring.
After a lengthy dispute with the UFC, Ngannou left the organization in early 2023 and set his sights on conquering a new sport.
He went straight for the biggest star in boxing’s then blue division – Britain’s Tyson Fury – when the pair agreed to fight each other in October 2023.
Francis Ngannou (left) takes on Renan Ferreira (right) in Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening
Ngannou wants to recover after a difficult twelve months on a personal and professional level
It all started when he was controversially defeated by Tyson Fury, despite knocking down the Brit
Many observers believed Ngannou did enough to win, but Fury was awarded the split-decision victory
Few gave Ngannou a prayer to resolve a major upset. After all, Fury was the WBC heavyweight champion and had never been defeated as a professional, while Ngannou was just beginning his boxing journey.
But as the fight started, it quickly became clear that Ngannou was in no way out of his reach.
In round three the unthinkable happened. As the two men traded in the center of the ring, Ngannou landed a left hook to the temple that sent Fury to the canvas.
It was one of the biggest upsets in recent heavyweight history, and suddenly a Ngannou victory was on the line.
Fury gradually worked his way back into the contest, but Ngannou continued to hold his ground and when the bell rang for the final time at the end of ten rounds, there were plenty of observers who felt the crossover star had done enough to take his hand. increased.
However, two of the judges saw things differently as Fury was awarded a split-decision victory.
Fans then took to social media to claim Ngannou had been ‘robbed’ of arguably the greatest heavyweight ever. The rookie boxer’s stock had risen, but ultimately he had fallen just short in his quest to topple Fury.
His calls for a rematch fell on deaf ears, so it was time to turn his attention to another Brit: Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou took on Anthony Joshua in March but was knocked out in the first round
He was then defeated in devastating fashion by the Brit in the second round
When the fight was announced in January, with the fight date set for March 8, it seemed like an intriguing matchup.
Joshua had won his previous three fights but also showed vulnerabilities against big punchers, and Ngannou certainly falls into that category.
On the other hand, doubts remained over whether Ngannou’s performance against Fury was simply a one-off. Could he really cause AJ the same problems?
That question was answered emphatically within two rounds. A straight right hand knocked Ngannou down in the first round, and he never fully recovered.
An even harder blow followed in the second, and as Ngannou rose on unsteady legs, Joshua went in for the finish. With one huge right hand, Ngannou fell to the ground and the fight was waved off.
It was a brutal knockout, with Joshua delivering the kind of one-sided beating that many expected Fury to dish out five months earlier.
Just as Ngannou was licking his wounds from his devastating defeat, tragedy struck.
In April, he announced the loss of his 15-month-old son Kobe in a heartbreaking Instagram post.
Ngannou spoke earlier this year about the tragic loss of his fifteen-month-old son Kobe
Ngannou revealed that his 15-month-old son Kobe died in April in a heartbreaking post on his Instagram account
The statement read: ‘Too early to leave, but he’s gone anyway.
“My little boy, my buddy, my partner Kobe was full of life and joy. Now he lies lifeless. I screamed his name over and over again, but he doesn’t respond.
‘I was my best self next to him and now I have no idea who I am. Life is so unfair to hit us where it hurts the most.”
Three months later, Ngannou said on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that his son’s death “broke him” and left him with “nothing.”
He later admitted that he was considering retiring after struggling to cope with his devastating loss.
But he has chosen to fight on and will now face Ferreira this weekend as he looks to make a statement on his PFL debut.
Things between the pair have become personal after Ferreira appeared to reference the death of Ngannou’s son during a press conference in August.
“Francis has had a difficult year in his life,” Ferreira said through a translator.
Ngannou returns to MMA this weekend for the first time in almost three years
Things between him and Ferreira have become personal after the Brazilian appeared to reference the death of his son at a press conference
Ngannou will want to make a statement and forge a new path to a better future
‘But the toughest challenge in his life and his year will be me. I’m going to be the biggest problem of his year.’
That apparent taunt could feed Ngannou’s belly, with the 38-year-old trying to prove he’s still an elite MMA heavyweight.
The past twelve months have been among the toughest trials of his life. From losing two boxing fights in very different circumstances to experiencing a family tragedy, Ngannou has been through more than most.
He will never be able to put these life-changing events behind him, but a win on Saturday night would be a step in the right direction towards a better future.