Francis Ngannou is MMA champion again after a dominant win

Prior to last Saturday, Francis Ngannou had not competed in MMA competition since January 2022, when he defeated Ciryl Gane in his first defense of the UFC heavyweight championship. Since then, a lot has happened in his life, both inside and outside of sport.

The Cameroonian left the UFC after his contract expired and was unable to negotiate a new contract. He finally signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in May last year. He earned a lot of money in two highly profitable boxing matches, first against former undefeated heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and then against Anthony Joshua. He lost both, but Ngannou suffered his greatest loss nearly six months ago when his 15-month-old son Kobe died of a brain malformation.

Before his game on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, against the 1.80 meter tall Brazilian Renan Ferreira, there were questions as to whether the 1.80 meter tall Ngannou still had the skills and focused mental state to compete against the top Dominating the competition after a 33-month break from MMA action. However, Ngannou left no questions unanswered as he defeated Ferreira by knockout less than four minutes into the first round to become the first-ever PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion.

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After the win, Ngannou was asked about his son’s death. He took a deep breath and said, “You’ve been telling me I’m hard until I believe I’m hard, and then I recently found out I’m not hard at all. Life can take advantage of you and think you’re running away, and then it hits you really hard all over again, and then it’s something I never could have imagined.”

Ngannou said the mourning period will last a lifetime.

“I think it’s one of those things where you wonder, ‘Will this ever be over?’ And you think it might never be over. You might as well learn to live with it. It’s a new life and a new way of life that I have to learn.”

The match the entire MMA world wants to see is Ngannou against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who makes his first title defense at UFC 309 against former two-time champion Stipe Miocic (20-4-) on November 16 at Madison Square Garden. 0) will complete). Like Ngannou, neither Jones nor Miocic have competed in quite some time: Jones won the championship in March 2023, while Miocic has not fought since March 2021, when he lost the title to Ngannou. However, with both Ngannou and Jones signing new contracts with the PFL and UFC respectively last year, a fight between them may not happen for several years.

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