Francis Ngannou’s 15-month-old son Kobe dies just weeks after his Saudi megafight with Anthony Joshua… as UFC champion-turned boxer shares heartbreaking post on social media

Francis Ngannou’s 15-month-old son Kobe has tragically passed away.

Cameroon outlet 237online.com first reported the devastating news and the former UFC champion turned boxer confirmed it with a heartbreaking post on social media.

On Instagram, Ngannou 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.

‘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.’

Ngannou’s Instagram post came after he shared a heartbreaking post on X earlier on Monday evening.

He had said, ‘What is the purpose of life if what we fight tooth and nail to escape is what ultimately hits us the hardest!?

‘Why is life so unfair and unforgiving? Why does life always take what we don’t have? I’m fucking tired.’

Several fans and fellow fighters quickly sent their well wishes and condolences to the Cameroonian, including Conor McGregor.

The Irishman – who has four children – replied to Ngannou’s post, saying: ‘I’m so sorry to hear of your loss Francis, my prayers are with you and your family at this time.’

Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick, added: ‘It has been a tough few days, words cannot express the pain we all feel for the Ngannou family during this time.

“Please keep Francis and his family in your hearts, and may this be a reminder of the fragility of life. Say ‘I love you’ more often, tomorrow is not guaranteed.”

The circumstances surrounding the death of Ngannou’s son are unknown at this time.

Ngannou, who grew up in Batie, Cameroon, where he was raised by a single mother, also received tremendous support from the people of his home country, with the former UFC champion staying extremely close to his roots.

This includes his mother, who regularly appears in his social media posts.

Ngannou has endured an inspiring journey to the top after having to walk ten kilometers every day to go to school and digging sand mines when he was just ten years old.

As he grew older, 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.

Reflecting on his fighting journey last year, he said: “For me, I just got into MMA for fun. I had time to train, so I thought: why not train MMA too?

“And then it happened really quickly and they started asking if I wanted to fight. And I said, “Yes, let’s do it.”

“I didn’t realize how fast it was happening until the coach said to me, ‘We have a UFC contract for you.'”

After winning five of his first six mixed martial arts fights, Ngannou penned his first UFC contract and quickly began to make an impact in the promotion.

Six straight wins showcasing his punching power earned him a heavyweight title shot against Stipe Miocic, but he suffered a blowout loss in 2018.

He bounced back from the defeat by brutally beating Miocic and Derrick Lewis, with a series of knockout victories. The Predator won three of his next four fights in under a minute, including a victory after just 20 seconds against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 2020.

The 37-year-old made the decision to leave the UFC in 2022 after defending his title against Ciryl Gane.

His UFC career ended with a record of 17 wins and three losses, including 12 knockouts.

After leaving the promotion, Ngannou signed with the Professional Fighter’s League (PFL), and has since dipped his toes into the boxing world.

Ngannou has fought both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, suffering a narrow defeat to the Gypsy King before the Cameroonian lost heavily to AJ.

In his March fight against Joshua, which reportedly earned Ngannou around £15 million, the Cameroonian was knocked out in the second round after a devastating punch as he struggled to recover his previous performances in the ring.

After the defeat, Ngannou had said: ‘Sorry guys, I let you all down. Today was a bad day at the office, but tomorrow is another day. Thank you all for the love.”

Despite that defeat, Ngannou remains a hugely popular and marketable athlete, especially since his move to the PFL.

Reports claimed that a major reason why the Cameroonian originally signed with PFL had to do with messages of support after previously addressing the ‘lack of freedom’ for fighters within the UFC.

When he went to X in 2022, he said: “Fighters are getting ripped off with sponsorships. It is a huge source of revenue for us, but the company continues to exploit it for its own benefit.

“I understand that the sport needs to look good with uniforms, but we should at least be entitled to at least two approved sponsors for the octagon.”

Along with PFL, Ngannou is now said to have deals with Gymshark, Phya, CBD Research Labs, Cryo Pain Relief and The Fight Game.

Ngannou was due to make his PFL debut this summer against reigning champion Renan Ferreira, although that is now uncertain following the tragic news.