LONDON: Francis Ngannou made a triumphant and emotional return to the cage on Saturday, dedicating his dominant Professional Fighters League debut victory at “Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact” in Riyadh to his late son Kobe.
The Cameroonian heavyweight lived up to his “Predator” moniker with a first-round stoppage of Brazilian Renan “Problema” Ferreira during the headline bout at the Mayadeen Arena.
Ngannou’s victory, however, carried deep personal significance.
Six months ago, Ngannou revealed in a heartbreaking social media post that his 15-month-old son Kobe had passed away due to a brain malformation.
In the post-fight press conference, Ngannou spoke about the immense difficulty of focusing on the fight amid his grief.
“I used to think I was tough and then I found out that I wasn’t that tough. Life can take different paths and then it hits you really bad, from the front. And then it’s something I never imagined,” he said.
“It was pretty hard to focus on the fight. It was hard at any moment from the beginning to the end. You think it’s never going to be over, but you just learn to roll with it, to live with it.
“In certain cases, I would have taken (a longer) time to grieve, but how long would that take? I don’t think there’s enough time. It’s about keeping going and a new way of living,” he added.
Ngannou also expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for the opportunity to compete on such a grand stage. After previously fighting boxing icons Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, he said the Kingdom felt like “family” to him.
Ngannou’s emotional victory was just one highlight of a historic night for mixed martial arts in the Kingdom.
In the co-main event, Brazil’s Cris Cyborg captured the PFL title with a unanimous decision victory over fellow countrywoman Larissa Pacheco with the back-and-forth bout further cementing Cyborg’s legendary status in women’s MMA.
“I feel very happy to get the PFL belt,” she said after the fight. “For me, it was a historical fight here in Saudi Arabia. Thank you to Saudi Arabia. I feel very happy and grateful to be here. Thank you, MashAllah (God has willed it).”
In other bouts, Johnny Eblen defended his middleweight title with another unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwards, while Zafar Mohsen defeated Husein Kadimagomaev in the featherweight division.
The lightweight contest saw Paul Hughes edge past AJ McKee in a split-decision victory. Hughes was particularly thrilled by the presence of Al-Nassr football star Cristiano Ronaldo in the audience, calling it a dream come true.
“That’s incredible. I was a huge Manchester United fan and huge Ronaldo fan growing up as a kid. I have to get out there and meet him, somebody please take me to him after this,” he said.
As the popularity of MMA continues to grow in Saudi Arabia, the night marked the latest of six PFL events held in the Kingdom this year, three of which were pay-per-view.
The event underscored Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning role as a hub for major international MMA competitions, a partnership fueled by PFL and the Saudi Mixed Martial Arts Federation. Participation in MMA has increased by 21 percent in Saudi Arabia this year alone.
