Francis Ngannou faced a tragedy that no one should ever go through. Losing a child is something that breaks the will of the strongest of warriors. And Ngannou was no different when his 15-month-old son, Kobe, left for his heavenly abode back in April 2024. The words that he shared over his loss were, “Kobe was full of life and joy. Now, he’s laying without life. I shouted his name over and over but he’s not responding.” Needless to say, these words even jerked tears from the strongest of hearts. But Ngannou isn’t one to give up.

The Cameroonian fighter, however, has continued his quest and has finally come close to stepping inside the MMA cage once again. He is all set to fight against Renan Ferreira at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants. But during the weigh-ins, the fighting community noticed that the former UFC heavyweight champion had inked his body for the first time. And it was nothing but a tribute to his son. 

The tattoo on his left bicep showed the name ‘Kobe’ spelled in beautiful italics, with a dove above it. This is proof that the world of mixed martial arts needed to believe that Ngannou was never going to quit. After all, he previously said, “The best way to pay tribute to him, to honor him, is to do something positive. To keep staying active because that’s the best way to pay tribute to him instead of just quit because, if I stop fighting, that would have been like quitting.” 

As the picture of Ngannou’s tattoo went viral on the internet, the netizens simply couldn’t avert their eyes. This was a reminder of his tragic loss, that seemed to give him uncanny power against Ferreira. And soon enough, the fans began speculating that things didn’t look good for the Brazilian heavyweight given that Ngannou’s loss would be driving him to victory. They soon began sending warnings in Ferreira’s way as they continued predicting the outcome of the bout. Let’s see what the fighting community had to say.

Renan Ferreira warned after Francis Ngannou got his first tattoo to honor his late son

Ngannou is a knockout artist and has won 11 of his 20 fights via knockouts. His punches are indeed something that his opponents need to be wary of. The outcome of the bout seemed to be fixed for the Brazilian as a fan wrote, “That man Ferreira is dead he just doesn’t know yet.” And with his son powering his left hand, the fans believed that a left fist would decide the fate of the match. One of the fans wrote, “K.o by left hook.” Meanwhile, another comment read, “Francis by KO for his son tmr.” One more fight fan added, “That’ll be the arm attached to the ko hand tomorrow.”

Many predicted that the bout would last for only 1 round. No doubt, the Cameroonian desperately needs this victory, after the unfortunate losses he faced in the boxing rings. One of the fans commented, “Ngannou By first round tko dont over think it.” While another predicted that the fighting community would witness a jab, a cross, and a knockdown. The comment read, “Fererria by ko round 1 , jab and cross.” 

Nevertheless, the world continued to shed tears for the Cameroonian. ‘Kobe’ being the first ink that Ngannou got on his body, the tattoo got a special place in the fans’ hearts. One fan wrote, “It’s even more crazier that it’s his first tattoo.” And another fan prompted, “Bro first ever tattoo is a special one💯❤️People just get tattoos cuz they want to..”

It was nothing short of a horror story, and the fans knew it pretty well. But this horror might just change its perspective with Ferreira going down as the fans predicted. After all, Ngannou is up to unleash his feelings in the cage.

What are your thoughts on Ngannou’s body ink? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.