Francis Ngannou “asked himself questions” before winning the PFL title

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – In addition to the enormous emotional and mental burden that Francis Ngannou carried following the tragic death of his son in PFL: Battle of the Giants, he also overcame physical hurdles.

Ngannou (18-3) revealed to MMA Junkie after Saturday's first-round knockout of Renan Ferreira (13-4), who captured the inaugural PFL superfight heavyweight title, that his camp has been plagued by a rib injury , which led to a degree of consideration of withdrawing from the fight.

Ultimately, he advanced in the competition and got the job done, but his head MMA coach Eric Nicksick admitted there were some concerns, particularly if Ngannou was forced to fight Ferreira from the bottom position at any point.

“It was bad enough that you have to consider: He broke his knee and didn't want to pull out of the Ciryl Gane fight (but almost pulled out of that fight),” Nicksick said in an interview with MMA Junkie Exclusive Interview on Sunday. “There is a difference, different stakes, but it was also a different kind of pain for him and obviously we had a game plan that was a lot about grappling.

“He was worried about how he would be able to move and try to fight with a bruised rib if he was on his back. When he went to the doctors and they cleared him of the disease with an MRI and everything else, I think he realized, 'I'm going to be OK. I'm going to get through this.'”

While the injury was not insignificant, it also paled in comparison to everything else Ngannou endured in his return to MMA exactly 1,000 days after his last UFC fight against Gane in January 2022.

Ngannou's 15-month-old son Kobe tragically died earlier this year and the trauma of the situation led to thoughts of retirement. Ngannou said that he ultimately decided to come back and dedicate a winning performance to his late child, and after accomplishing that mission, the emotions poured out in the form of a long hug with Nicksick and lots of tears in the cage.

“I can immediately see the weight lifted off his shoulders,” Nicksick said. “I think that was a big part of my emotional reaction when he won the fight. I just wanted to get in there and be with my boy. He's been through a lot, and more than I think many of us will ever know. It's just an unimaginable series of events that happened. Not only that, but to come back and win the way he won – it's just a lot of emotions.

“Not many words were said (when we hugged). I just wanted to be there and hug my boy, man. Seeing the emotions he's had over the last six months, and not only that, even going back to the Anthony Joshua fight – a lot of questions. It was hard. It was just hard. Not much was said. I just told him I loved him, gave him a big hug and just wanted to be with him and support him.”

Ngannou, 38, admitted after the win that part of his motivation to fight again was to “find out if I can still fight, if I still have it.” There was really a lot of self-doubt, and Nicksick said that these did not disappear even when the final hours ended with facing Ferreira.

But as Ngannou has done throughout his life, he found a way to achieve his goal. He did it when he fled his native Cameroon in search of a better life. He did it while surviving homelessness in France. He made it when he entered MMA with limited experience and rose to become a UFC champion. And he did it again on Saturday, securing PFL gold.

“I never questioned him, but I know he questioned himself the entire time – even up until the day of the fight,” Nicksick said. “I know he was a completely different weight, and all I said to him was, 'There's no other person in the world that I've met who has the courage and resilience that you have.' And if there's anyone who can overcome any kind of adversity, it's you. I don't know what it is about God, fate, or the universe that makes things obvious to you. “They put things in front of you because they want to see you get through it. That was my thing for him.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie's event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.