Francis Ngannou mourns the death of 15-month-old son, Kobe, at his funeral – as ex-UFC champion Kamaru Usman and Cameroon football legend Samuel Eto’o pay their respects in attendance
- Francis Ngannou explains to 15-month-old son during funeral after his tragic death
- The UFC star turned boxer announced the sad passing of his son on Monday
- Sports stars Kamaru Usman and Samuel Eto’o attended the service on Friday
Francis Ngannou buried his son at an emotional funeral on Friday, following the 15-month-old son’s devastating death.
The former UFC star turned boxer announced Kobe’s tragic loss on social media earlier this week, but the cause of death remains unknown.
The funeral was attended by former UFC world champion Kamaru Usman and Cameroonian football legend Samuel Eto’o, who both paid their respects during the ceremony.
Ngannou’s heartbreaking announcement on Instagram revealed the sad loss of his son, where he said; ‘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.
Francis Ngannou mourns his 15-month-old son at his funeral after his sad death this week
Cameroonian football legend Samuel Eto’o was among those who paid their respects
The heartbreaking funeral of Ngannou’s 15-month-old son Kobe took place on Friday
‘How do you deal with something like that? How can you live with it? Please help me if you have any ideas because I really don’t know what to do and how to deal with this.’
After Kobe’s loss, the likes of Anthony Joshua and Conor McGregor paid tribute to Ngannou.
Ngannou’s most recent opponent, Joshua, responded to the Cameroonian’s Instagram post by saying; “May the memories you shared bring you comfort.”
While UFC star McGregor, who trained with Ngannou, wrote; ‘Absolutely gutted to read this Francis! I can only imagine how much pain you are in right now. I’m so sorry to hear this news.
“I pray that God has the best and safest place for him in heaven until you meet again.”
There were also tributes from others within the boxing world, including Manny Pacquiao, Cain Velasquez and Tony Bellow.
Ngannou revealed in a heartbreaking post on his Instagram account on Monday that his 15-month-old son Kobe had died
Ngannou shared the news with his seven million Instagram followers, with the post receiving more than 35,000 comments in total
The 37-year-old grew up in Batie, Cameroon and his humble upbringing forced him to walk six miles every day to go to school and was digging sand mines by the age of 10.
Later in life he made the journey from Cameroon to the north of the continent – through Nigeria, Niger and Algeria before reaching Morocco.
Ngannou eventually settled in Paris, where he met trainer Fernand Lopez, who would convince him to take up MMA instead of boxing.
MMA thrust him into the spotlight and he rose from those humble beginnings to become a UFC heavyweight champion in 2020, defeating Stipe Miocic.
Anthony Joshua (left) has conveyed condolences to Francis Ngannou (right) following the death of his son
He retired from the sport two years later, with a record of 17 wins and three defeats, including 12 knockouts.
After retiring, Ngannou changed professions to boxing and has already fought Britain’s two top heavyweights.
In his first fight he took Tyson Fury all the way, slamming the heavyweight boxer to the mat before being defeated by the Gypsy King after a points win.
Earlier this year he stepped into the ring with Joshua, earning £15million, but suffered a brutal loss when the British boxer knocked out the novice fighter within two rounds.