Cristiano Ronaldo's Private Discussion with Francis Ngannou Exposed After MMA Comeback

Ngannou transitioned from the UFC to boxing in the previous year, facing off against Tyson Fury in a closely contested match where he fell short on points. Following this, he suffered a knockout loss against Anthony Joshua in March.

The 38-year-old returned to the octagon at the weekend as he KOd Renan Ferreira in the first round of his debut fight for PFL.

Ngannou dedicated the win to his late son Kobe, who died aged just 15 months earlier this year.

Ahead of the fight, Ronaldo visited Ngannou in his dressing room and the fighter’s trainer, Eric Nicksick, revealed that the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward opened up on his own personal tradgedy after his baby son died during childbirth in April 2022.

When asked about Ronaldo visiting Ngannou, Nicksick told MMA Junkie: ‘Dude, he was so cool.

Cristiano Ronaldo is all smiles with Francis Ngannou backstage 🤝#PFLSuperFights is LIVE on @ESPNPlus PPV 🍿 pic.twitter.com/14yktratp5

‘He was super down to earth, a super-cool guy. He’s actually a huge fight fan so he had a bunch of questions, like he was talking to me about [Sean] Strickland, he was talking about this and whatever right it was, really down to earth.

‘Then at one point, Francis got up to wrap his hands and Ronaldo was talking about he could feel Francis’ energy, and he goes, ‘I’m just going to give him words of encouragement’.

‘He was talking about the loss of one of his children and kind of how he related to that. It was actually pretty cool, I know how big of a star he is but sitting next to me and having this very personal conversation, he felt like he was part of the team right then and there.

‘His son [Cristiano Jr] was in there with us and hanging out, so it was very much a welcomed energy to have in the room, especially somebody of that stature who understands the highest pressure.

‘It was cool, a great guy, very down to earth.’

Speaking after his victory, Ngannou was in tears as he made a dedication to his late son Kobe.

‘I can’t think about anything other than my son Kobe. I only took this fight because of him and I’m done,’ Ngannou said.

‘I hope they can remember his name because, without Kobe, we wouldn’t be here tonight and I wouldn’t have fought. It has been tough. Not only the training camp but the past few days have been full of emotion.

‘I couldn’t do anything without thinking about it. I tried to be strong and give everything to keep moving but it’s hard. I think my next move in combat sports depends on me; how I feel and how I deal with my life right now.

‘I always thought I have a lot to give in combat sport and hopefully I keep thinking that way and keep that thought in life. I just want to say, please remember my son, remember my son Kobe. I dedicate this to him, this is to Kobe.’

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