Kamaru Usman opens up on emotional phone call with Francis Ngannou after Kobe's death: "My heart just dropped"
Someone has to make a movie about Francis Ngannou's life. Last weekend, 'The Predator' returned triumphantly to MMA by knocking out Renan Ferreira for the PFL heavyweight Superfight championship. This was on the heels of Ngannou tragically losing his son Kobe to a brain malformation last April.
Considering all the other obstacles he had to overcome in his life and career, the former UFC heavyweight champion's win last weekend had a lot of feeling to it.
Ngannou's fellow African-born former UFC champion Kamaru Usman spoke about how devastating it was for 'The Predator' to lose Kobe shortly after he was KO'd by Anthony Joshua. In an episode of Pound 4 Pound Podcast, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' recalled when he received a call from Ngannou right after Kobe died, saying:
"So I answer the phone...I said, 'Yo, my brother, every time we see each other I need to see a smile on your face.' And he just shakes his head. 'No, I can't smile.' I'm like, 'What's wrong?' He's like, 'He's gone.' And he tells me that he lost his son, and my heart just dropped."
Listen to what Kamaru Usman said here (41:21):
Kamaru Usman had some doubts leading up to Francis Ngannou's fight against Renan Ferreira
Usman mentioned that Francis Ngannou, about a month before his son's passing, was knocked out for the first time in his career by Anthony Joshua in boxing. The Cameroonian signed to fight Ferreira shortly after, vowing to do it for Kobe.
Considering the KO Ngannou just suffered months before, Usman showed some concern that he might be acting too emotionally, and fighting someone like Ferreira might be too soon.
Yet, the former UFC welterweight king was proven wrong given the dominant dismantling Francis Ngannou did to Renen Ferraira last weekend. In praise of his fellow African-born fighter, Usman said (42:31):
"We all have journeys in this life. Each and everyone of us, we have our story. Our life is a book. It's a scroll. It's a story we're writing each and every day. And the story this man has [written] already, and this man continues to write, is more than incredible.
"To be able to go through adversity and adversity and adversity and roadblocks and challenges. To get to a place where you've gotten to, and to go out there and do what he did last night, is more than spectacular."
Given the stories that have become Hollywood movies, it doesn't seem like a stretch for Francis Ngannou to have his own biopic one day.