Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has tragically lost his 15-month old son, Kobe.
On Monday, the current PFL and boxing star issued a statement to social media confirming his son’s passing. No cause of death has been revealed, but Ngannou had earlier issued a vague statement about the cruelties of life that read in part “Why is life so unfair and merciless? Why does life always take what we don’t have? I’m f*cking tired.”
Later in the day, he announced the tragic news.
“Too soon to leave but yet he’s gone. My little boy, my mate, my partner Kobe was full of life and joy. Now, he’s laying without life,” Ngannou wrote in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “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.” The heartbreaking loss has Ngannou reeling, as he added “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.”
Ngannou’s coach at Xtreme Couture, Eric Nicksick, asked fans to keep the heavyweight in their hearts.
“It’s been a heavy few days, words can’t express the pain we all feel for the Ngannou family during this time,” Nicksick wrote in his own social media post. “Please keep Francis and his family in your heart, and may this be a reminder of the fragility of life. Say “I love you,” more often, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.”
Francis Ngannou was last in action in March when he was violently knocked out in a boxing match by Anthony Joshua. He had been expected to return to the mixed martial arts world later this year under the PFL banner, though that timeframe could now be in question for obvious reasons.
