Francis Ngannou dedicated his Professional Fighters League (PFL) heavyweight title win over Renan Ferreria to his late son Kobe after winning the ‘Battle of the Giants’ event with a first-round knockout.
Ngannou, who was a previous UFC heavyweight champion, returned to the mixed martial arts arena for the first time since making the switch to boxing and his defeat to Anthony Joshua back in March.
The Cameroonian took control of the fight from the start with some heavy kicks before dragging his Brazilian opponent to the mat. Ngannou followed up with a series of devastating punches and ended the fight with 88 seconds remaining in the opening round.
In his post-fight interview the 38-year-old was tearful and emotional as he paid tribute to his son Kobe who died at just 15 months old earlier this year.
“The past two days were very tough, full of emotion, I couldn’t do anything without thinking about it [Kobe’s passing],” he said.
“I tried to stay strong and tell myself to do everything to keep moving but it’s hard. It’s just hard. I only did this fight because of him.
“I wanted to fight for him… I hope they can remember his name, because without Kobe, we wouldn’t be here tonight, I wouldn’t have fought. Thank you everyone for coming.”
The event was designated as a ‘super fight’ and differed from the PFL’s usual format of a regular season and playoffs to ensure that belts were at stake for Ngannou’s return.
He is a popular champion having risen from childhood poverty in Cameroon to the top of mixed martial arts with his crowning achievement being his UFC heavyweight title win in March 2021.
Once his UFC contract expired, he fought Joshua and Tyson Fury in lucrative heavyweight boxing matches before debuting in the PFL in a huge boost to the brand’s competition with the UFC.
In the evening’s co-main event for the PFL Super Fights women’s featherweight belt, Brazilians Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco went to war over five rounds, with the vastly experienced Cyborg emerging victorious via unanimous decision.
Additional reporting from Reuters.