Francis Ngannou made an emotional return to mixed martial arts (MMA), knocking out Renan Ferreira in under four minutes. This marked his first fight in over two years, following his last title defense against Ciryl Gane. During his break from MMA, Ngannou briefly ventured into boxing, losing a close decision to Tyson Fury and then suffering a second-round knockout against Anthony Joshua.
Francis Ngannou had previously faced Renan Ferreira before his loss to Anthony Joshua. Despite the devastating loss of his one-year-old son earlier this year, Ngannou kept his promise to return to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) to challenge the Brazilian champion, who won the PFL heavyweight title last year and had recently defeated Ryan Bader in 2024.
After a cautious start, Ngannou surprised everyone by taking the fight to the ground, where he delivered a series of powerful strikes to secure the victory. Fighting back tears, he dedicated the win to his late son, Kobe, stating,
“I can’t think of anything but my son. I only took this fight because of him. I hope people remember his name because without Kobe, I wouldn’t be here tonight. I wouldn’t have fought.”
