‘Traumatized’ Francis Ngannou opens up about the death of his son – ‘What’s the point of fighting?’

“You know, it is something you’d never forget, but it definitely brings you to see life in a different way,” Ngannou said. “It happened in a weird moment in my life where I was always on the go and wondering if I even have emotions anymore, but no — I was just ignoring things.”

“It was a trigger to find out that I’m still sensitive and I’m still human,” he continued. “You get there and you see how life is so fragile. I was thinking, ‘I’m out here fighting for this, I’m thinking I’m this,’ but every moment can be your last.”

Ngannou then recalled a terrifying moment involving his daughter months after Kobe’s passing — a moment that highlighted just how deeply traumatized he had become.

“I remember a few months after my son passed away, I was with my daughter and she had a cold,” Ngannou explained. “At some point she stopped reacting and was getting fatigued, and it was the biggest fear of my life. It was a normal reaction for my kid but for me, I was traumatized.”

The Cameroonian superstar admitted there was a period when he no longer wanted to compete.

“I did not want to keep fighting; there was no reason,” Ngannou said. “I find no purpose in it. The reason I was fighting was for security and a better life for my family, then I felt so powerless in front of the situation.

“I was like, ‘What’s the point of fighting if I cannot fight for my son? What am I looking for?”

Ngannou also revealed that the final memory he has of Kobe still haunts him.

“I think about the last time I saw him — It was me leaving the apartment, going to the elevator,” Ngannou said. “My brother was holding him, and he was crying because he did not want me to leave, but I just knew I was going to be back and everything was going to be okay. Those moments you take for granted. Then, when he died, I thought, ‘Where was I going?’ Nothing even mattered. I should have just sat there. That was the last moment of him in my mind. I should have gone back.”

Ultimately, Ngannou revealed he nearly walked away from combat sports entirely after Kobe’s death because fighting no longer felt important. But after months of grief and reflection, the former UFC champion realized continuing his career was the best way to honor his son’s memory.

Now, every walk to the cage carries a completely different meaning for “The Predator” — and this weekend’s return won’t just be another fight. It will be one more step in a deeply personal journey of trying to heal while carrying Kobe with him forever.

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