Francis Ngannou ready to shut Renan Ferreira's mouth with the spiritual strength of his late son

April 29, 2024 will go down as the worst day in Francis Ngannou's life when his 15-month-old son, Kobe, suddenly died.

It begs the question: how is the ex-UFC heavyweight champion mentally holding up five months later as he prepares for his Professional Fighters League debut?

Ngannou had contemplated retirement before vowing to continue in combat sports by ing the PFL, viewing the decision as the "best way of honoring him," and he will make his debut on October 19 in Saudi Arabia.

But despite his willingness to try to move forwards, the loss of a child, especially one so young, is a devastating event for a parent so how is he mentally performing ahead of his Renan Ferreria?

"I just feel like the motivation is different for Francis," Nicksick, his head coach, told ESPN. "Especially when he sees adversity in practice or he sees adversity in a round.

"I just feel like he has his edge to him about him that whatever he is going through in the moment.

"When it comes to MMA, will never be the gravity of what he is going through in his life. MMA things now seem easy, right? It's like I can get through this because of what I've been through in my life."

Ngannou had even tried his hand at professional boxing and impressed in his debut against Tyson Fury by knocking the then-WBC champion down in October 2023 and narrowly lost on the score cards.

He then took on Anthony Joshua, formerly unified champion, but didn't fare so well. The British power puncher dismissed the MMA fighter in two rounds after knocking him down three times, including in the first.

As a result, he will now take on Ferreria, who previously competed in the Legacy Fighting Alliance but has been in the PFL since 2021. The 34-year-old 6ft 8in Brazilian possesses a 13-3-0 (three no contests) record.

How did Ngannou react to his son's death?

The 38-year-old came from poverty and lacked an education after growing up, working in tough manual labor from the age of 10 before moving to Europe in a bid to become a professional boxer.

And after a stint in jail for illegal migration, he managed to make it to where he eventually started his career and switched to MMA. In 2013 he made his pro debut and in 2021 he won the UFC heavyweight championship after a previous failed title bid.

Now with a net worth of around $15m dollars, he had set himself up to his child to do whatever he wanted in life, free from the struggles the Cameroonian faced as a youngster, until the tragedy struck in Spring 2024 to devastate his world.

"Too soon to leave but yet he's gone," Ngannou wrote in a separate tribute. "My little boy, my mate, my partner Kobe was full of life and joy. Now he's laying without life. I shouted his name over and over but he's not responding.

"I was my best self next to him and now I have no clue of who I am. Life is so unfair to hit us where it hurts the most. How do you deal with such a thing? How can you live with it?

"Please help me if you have an idea because I really don't know what to do and how to deal with this."