Francis Ngannou did not celebrate his first-round technical knockout victory over Renan Ferreira in the cage this past weekend in his Professional Fighters League debut.
Instead, the former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion broke down in tears following the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants.
Ngannou has been mourning the loss of his 15-month-old son, Kobe, since his tragic death in April.
The global superstar was not sure if he would ever compete in combat sports again but explained he eventually decided to return to fighting as a way to honour his late son.
“It was tough. It was really tough,” Ngannou told The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday, just 48 hours removed from winning the PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship. “It wasn’t just like a normal fight that (I’m used to) that you just walk there and go fight and whatever happens, it was beyond fighting. It was way more than fighting.”
The fight itself only lasted 3:32 as Ngannou ended an extended layoff from MMA to improve to 18-3 in the sport. He had not competed in MMA since defending his UFC title by defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022.
After leaving the UFC later that year following a contract dispute, he signed with PFL but was permitted to pursue a boxing career before debuting for his new organization.
Ngannou fought former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to a close decision 12 months ago but was viciously knocked out by Anthony Joshua in March in his second pro boxing match.
The 38-year-old from Cameroon is known for his devastating punching power but, just like in his win over Gane, Ngannou incorporated wrestling into his game plan to help him secure the victory.
Ngannou said he planned on timing his takedown attempts off of Ferreira’s big right hand and that’s exactly what he did once he saw his opponent’s back near the cage.
As for what’s next for Ngannou, fans could see him either in a cage or back in the ring his next time out.
“I don’t really have a preference, I just think it’ll be next year,” Ngannou said before adding he “absolutely” will have more boxing matches in the future.
Ngannou is the lineal heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts.
