Why Francis Ngannou got his feet wet shortly before his MMA return

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made an emotional return to MMA in his first fight in nearly three years, securing a dominant first-round win over Renan Ferreira at the PFL Battle of the Giants pay-per-view on Saturday night.

When the Cameroonian last entered the cage, he was still UFC champion and successfully defended his gold against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. Since that fight, “The Predator” has made an unusual name for himself in heavyweight boxing, where both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will compete in the squared circle.

During an interview with veteran journalist Ariel Helwani after his win over Ferreira, Ngannou was asked if it felt strange to be back in an MMA cage after such a long absence. The 38-year-old’s response revealed a bizarre pre-fight routine designed to help him acclimate to the PFL cage in his debut for the promotion.

Francis Ngannou took drastic measures to become comfortable in the PFL cage

“The Predator” was competing for the company for the first time

“Sometimes the canvas feels a bit slippery and so I have to wet my feet in the corner beforehand. Most of the time when you step on there’s no real traction on the foot and canvas, and I felt that.”

Wetting his feet certainly seemed to be working for Ngannou as he soon secured a comfortable victory over Ferreira before brutally knocking him down to the mat to secure the victory at 3:32 of the opening round.

Francis Ngannou cries after dedicating first-round knockout win to late son

Francis Ngannou burst into tears after defeating Renan Ferreira in one round.

Ngannou broke down in tears after winning his first fight since the death of his young son Kobe in April, but he believes he will compete again to honor his son’s memory.

“I think so. On the way, I thought I had started this fight so early. I thought maybe it wasn’t time to start fighting yet. But the question is, “When will the exact time be?” And I felt like the right time would never be there. I think it’s just something to embrace because I don’t think things will be different if we wait a few years.

While Ngannou is confident he will fight again, it is not important to him whether his next fight will be in MMA or boxing. Significantly, however, he reportedly still has one more fight left on his PFL contract – for which he could earn up to $10 million.

“It could be both. I don’t know yet, I have no influence on it, I have no decision. I think it also depends on the promotion.”