CNN
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It is with a renewed sense of purpose in life and a heavy heart that former UFC champion Francis Ngannou makes his long-awaited return to an MMA cage in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

The Cameroonian will make his Professional Fighters League debut against heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira in Saturday’s Super Fight title in Riyadh.

However, Ngannou will do so against the backdrop of unspeakable tragedy following the death earlier this year of his beloved 15-month-old son Kobe.

“The best way to pay tribute to him, to honor him, is to do something positive. To stay active because that is the best way to pay tribute to him instead of just quitting because if I stopped fighting it would have been the same as quitting,” Ngannou told CNN Sport. “It was not the time for me to retire, to stop fighting.

“(He was) a brave guy. He came as king and left as king. He was just something special. For some reason he could no longer live. I had to look at him so many times and was impressed. I couldn’t believe he was mine. He was the best that could be in me.”

Inspired and motivated by the memory of his son, the man who once had the toughest punch in UFC history now has Ferreira in his sights as he looks to build on his record of just three losses in 20 mixed martial arts matches. Twelve of his seventeen victories came via knockout.

This will be the African star’s first MMA fight since 2022. In recent years, Ngannou has turned to the sweet science: boxing. Late last year he suffered a controversial points defeat to Tyson Fury – despite flooring the Englishman in one round – while earlier in 2024 he was knocked out by Fury’s compatriot Anthony Joshua.

“I would like to get back into MMA, because as much as I enjoy boxing, I do miss MMA. It’s time to return,” the heavyweight revealed as he looked ahead to his clash with his Brazilian opponent, who has 13 wins with 11 knockouts.

“He is a very dangerous opponent, just like everyone is a dangerous opponent. All those people I fought with before. It’s about finding your way. Make sure your strategy is good. Make sure your game plan is good to overcome. He’s dangerous, but I’m convinced I’m more dangerous than him. I think I have the best motivation. I’m the best at this game.”

Ngannou’s courageous journey to the pinnacle of his sport is beyond inspiring. He grew up in Cameroon and at the age of ten worked in a sand mine to support his family. Growing up by a single mother, it was a daily struggle against poverty. He describes his childhood as ‘tough and very challenging’, but also a childhood that strengthened him for future life experiences.

“And then I was in a position where I didn’t have to worry about anything, you know. I felt like I was prepared for anything and that was the moment I realized that my past for so long has been the best thing that ever happened to me,” Ngannou reflected as he shared details of his remarkable life story.

In 2012, a life-changing turning point came: Ngannou made the momentous decision to leave behind family, friends and his homeland. An epic year-long journey would follow, a journey plagued by dangers through multiple countries and continents, but also fueled by the hope for a better life. His goal may have one day been to realize the dream of a professional martial arts career in America.

The journey took him thousands of miles over land, mountains and sea before he finally arrived in Paris. Along the way, he spent time in forests where hunger was an ever-present reality.

“When you’re in survival mode, you do whatever it takes. Whether it’s finding food in the trash, you’ll find food in the trash where it’s needed. Whether you drink dirty water from a potential water source, you drink it to survive,” Ngannou said.

“We put ourselves in physical danger, whether it was crossing the barbed wire to get over the fence, or crossing the ocean and reaching Spain,” he added.

Despite not being able to swim, Ngannou attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar six times on an inflatable raft. All six attempts ended in failure, although quitting was never on the table.

“It was my ego thinking this way that kept me going,” he said. “Some people will go back because they have something to go back to. But some don’t, because that’s their only option. They don’t have a plan B. If your only plan is a plan A, you give everything for your plan and take a lot of risk.”

On the seventh attempt, Ngannou’s patience and perseverance were finally rewarded when the Red Cross finally brought him and the group he led to safety on April 3, 2013 – remarkably, exactly one year to the day he left his home country. But what followed, he says — a two-month incarceration in an immigration detention center — was psychologically disturbing.

“It was very heavy to bear. You get to the point where maybe they should have just let me go back,” Ngannou recalled. “You realize that even in the forest you were free. But you’re locked in this box. It was tough, but a good transition from where we were. Things turned out very differently.”

Ngannou would eventually reach Paris where he would once again endure hardships as he was homeless and forced to sleep in a parking lot. However, the Cameroonian’s spirit would never be broken. He found a local gym – told the owner at the time: “I have no money, I have nothing, but I want to be a world champion” – and there he got hope and was introduced to MMA.

It was the very beginning of his path to glory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Eight years later, this incredible Hollywood-style story would finally see an American dream come true in March 2021 when Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic to become UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Ngannou and the UFC would eventually part ways and his flirtation with boxing came quickly, but it could very well be in his future too – possibly as soon as this upcoming fight with Ferreira. “Boxing is unfinished business for me,” said the man whose mantra has always been to live by the “I’m going to conquer the world” mentality.

“It’s what has always kept me going. My motivation, my determination, my dedication. You can take anything from me now, but you will never take it from me. You will never take away my dream,” he added.

Wherever he goes, we can be sure of one thing: for Francis Ngannou, quitting will never be an option.