"Y’all must’ve forgot bro!” - Israel Adesanya reacts to Francis Ngannou’s brutal KO win over Renan Ferreira
Israel Adesanya was on hand to remind those forgetful of exactly why Francis Ngannou is the lineal MMA heavyweight world champion. Having not competed in MMA since 2022, 'The Predator' returned to action in a highly anticipated clash with Renan Ferreira.
The pair headlined a stacked night of fights at PFL: Battle of the Giants, which saw Ngannou reign supreme over his opponent and announce his arrival in the PFL with a brutal TKO finish in Round 1.
The Cameroonian opted against testing the boxing skillset he developed whilst training for fights with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Instead, he shot a well-timed takedown and worked towards a dominant position before unloading with ground-and-pound to secure victory.
His friend and fellow fighter, Adesanya, shared his reaction to the result in the immediate aftermath, saying:
"Y'all must've forgot bro!" [2:30]
He continued:
"Flawless, that was a beautiful performance. He took one leg kick and dodged the flurry. Eventually timed the right hand [punch], shot the [double-leg takedown], kept him there and knocked him out. Proud, inspired and just happy to watch him do his thing. Because he's gone through so much in his career... People are prisoners of the moment, they forget who this man is." [4:36-5:15]
Catch Israel Adesanya's reaction to Francis Ngannou's PFL win below:
Francis Ngannou opens up on how "tough" his road to PFL debut was
Francis Ngannou made his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira in the main event of the Battle of the Giants card held on Oct. 19.
After a life filled with trials and tribulations, Ngannou was dealt another horrific hand as his 15-month-old son, Kobe, passed away in April due to a medical issue. 'The Predator' was candid in the build-up to his PFL debut that the passing of his son was his motivation for returning.
Following his TKO win over Ferreira, Ngannou shared an emotional tribute to his son in the cage, dedicating his performance to Kobe. He then appeared in front of the media at the post-event press conference, and said:
"They've been telling me that I'm tough, to the point that I get to believe that I'm tough. And then I recently just found out that I wasn't tough. I wasn't that tough. Life can let you advance, and think that you're running away, and then it hits you really bad from the front."
Watch Francis Ngannou's candid speech below (0:30):