UFC star Francis Ngannou’s infant son dies

The 18-month-old son of UFC star and boxer Francis Ngannou has tragically passed away, according to a heartbreaking social media post.The fighter, who hails from Cameroon, shared the devastating update on X – formerly known as Twitter – after reports of the infant’s death had begun to circle throughout his home town.
Fellow sporting stars including Conor McGregor have rallied around the former UFC champion to offer their support during the tragic time, as Francis questioned why life was ‘so unfair and merciless’.”What’s the purpose of life if what we’re fighting tooth and nail to get away from is what finally hit us the hardest!?”

Conor McGregor offered his support to his former UFC colleague, posting: “I am so sorry to hear of your loss Francis, my prayers are with you and your family at this time.”
Ngannou grew up in poverty while living in Batie, Cameroon and worked from the age of ten. Keen to pursue his career as a fighter, he headed to Europe at the age of 26.He was jailed for illegally crossing the Spanish border and ended up homeless in Paris before finding a boxing club.

Boxing trainer Didier Carmont introduced Ngannou to MMA and convinced him to focus on that instead of boxing, and after impressing with a 5-1 record in France he was signed to the UFC before becoming the heavyweight champion and eventually leaving the company.
Francis opened the first-ever MMA gym in Cameroon and he has 26,000 beneficiaries from his foundation that donates educational materials to children and schools.
“When I started, I had nothing. Nothing. I needed everything. But when you start [to earn money], you starting collecting things: I want this, I want this, I want that,” Ngannou once said of his inspiring journey. “The purpose is not collecting things, though. The purpose is to do something great. Finish the dream you started.
“I want to help my family, first, of course, but then I want to allow children in my country like me who have a dream to become a doctor or something. If I reach my dream, it will allow me to help those in my country who have their dreams and nothing else to fulfil them.

“I want to give some opportunity to children like me who dream of this sport and don’t have an opportunity like me. The last time I was in Cameroon, I brought a lot of materials for boxing and MMA to open a gym. Now I just bought a big space to start the gym, as well.
“A lot of children now in Cameroon, because of me, they have a dream. They say, ‘I will be a champion in MMA. I will do boxing like Francis,’ because they saw me when I was young. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t have any opportunity. And today, they see me, and they dream. They are thinking that something is possible. Even when they are so poor, something is possible in life. … It’s not easy. It’s so hard, but it’s possible.”

Author: Andrew Collins

andrewc@gmail.com

London, UK