MMAMMA NEWS

Ngannou Announces His PFL Debut; Refused To Retire After His Son's Passing – ‘ I Fight For Him'

hasib

8 August 2024

Francis Ngannou has revealed that he considered retiring after the passing of his 15-month-old son Kobe.

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion has not had an MMA fight since leaving the UFC last year. His last MMA bout was a win over Ciryl Gane in 2022 at UFC 270. Contract talks with the UFC failed, as Ngannou looked elsewhere. He signed a deal with the PFL but chose to have two boxing fights instead. He took on Tyson Fury on his boxing debut and was unlucky not to have gotten a decision win.

The Predator suffered a split decision loss. He was then knocked by Anthony Joshua in March, after which his son passed away sometime after. There were question marks over whether Ngannou would fight again. Ngannou had secured his financial future with the Fury and Joshua fights. But now he will headline against Renan Ferreira on his PFL debut on October 19, thus ruling out retirement.

Ngannou On Retirement

"I lost my son. For some time, I felt like I didn’t even have to do this or questioning about if I should do it or fight again… But I want to do something good in his memory. Not to be the reason for me to quit but to be motivation and also to fight for him. It’s not that I have come close to retiring.

"It’s just that in this circumstance you think, you have different thoughts. You see how fragile life is. [And] you feel hurt, you feel powerless. You feel useless. You’re questioning about your existence, about the importance of all of this, or life in general…It’s not that I have considered retiring or something. It’s just that you have to deal with something that wasn’t on the landscape," Ngannou said

Now, Ngannou can turn his attention to other activities. He is also the Chairman of PFL Africa, which holds their play-off season starting next year. That will see Africa’s best talent compete against each other in the hope of discovering the next Ngannou. But he must get past Ferreira first. Renan is coming off a win against Ryan Bader at the PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card.

Ngannou’s Return

The crossover event was the first of its type since the PFL acquired Bellator last year. Bader is also the 2023 PFL Heavyweight Championship after having knocked out Denis Goltsov to win the belt. Ngannou knows a win makes him the best fighter in the PFL, having beaten the best. While fans still hope to see Ngannou take on Jon Jones, this is the next best thing on offer. Both fighters were ready for the task at hand.

"Renan is a great fighter, I have been watching him for years. I have been studying him for years, in fact I’ve been telling people to watch this guy. He’s quite unique, he’s athletic, fast, and he showed that in his last fight," Ngannou stated

"This is the fight of my life. I am preparing like never before to bring Ngannou a whole lot of problems," Ferreira revealed