Francis Ngannou was ready to walk away from fighting after the tragic loss of his 15-month-old son Kobe, but then the former UFC heavyweight champion realized that the tragedy could lead to a deeper meaning.

Ngannou makes his promotional debut this Saturday in the main event of the PFL’s Battle of the Giants pay-per-view card against dangerous knockout artist Renan Ferreira. “The Predator” suffered the heartbreaking loss in April following a two-fight run in the boxing ring. After admitting he thought about hanging up the gloves — which would be completely understandable — Ngannou wants the loss to serve a higher purpose.

“[My purpose is] to make this fight meaningful,” Ngannou told MMA Fighting. “This fight was most likely not to happen. I was most likely not to fight this year, or never. But I want to make a purpose of things that happen. Give it a purpose.

“Instead of using it as an excuse of giving up, maybe use it as a purpose to continue, give it more sense, give it more reason, make things more meaningful, more impactful. I’m saying that about the loss of my son. After that, I really considered dropping everything, and one of the only reasons why I didn’t do that was because thinking about it, he would’ve been like he was the one taking me out, making me quit, which is not a responsibility that, I think, of his to carry. That is my responsibility.”

Ngannou competes in the MMA cage for the first time in nearly three years. In his most recent mixed martial arts appearance, Ngannou successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. The 38-year-old went on and made the decision to leave the UFC and sign with PFL, before getting two massive opportunities in the boxing ring against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. After losing both, Ngannou is now set for his first walk to the PFL Smart Cage to battle for the PFL Superfight heavyweight title.

With a heavy heart, and a newfound motivation, Ngannou plans to make Kobe proud no matter how the chips fall on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

“The only thing I can do is make a purpose of his existence, or of this loss,” Ngannou said. “You know, make it make some sense, trying to write his name in a better way for him to be remembered.”

Donald Cerrone announced that he intends to come out of retirement for two more UFC fights.

Cerrone (36-17-2 MMA, 23-14-1 UFC) hung up his gloves in July 2022 after a submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.

Cerrone has 48 fights under the Zuffa banner, which includes his time in the WEC prior to the UFC. He wants to compete two more times to reach a career milestone of 50.

“I want to go back and get two more fights,” Cerrone said in a video on his Instagram. “When I retired, I told you I was getting my hair done and get on steroids. The No. 50 (Zuffa) has been sitting on my mind for a while. So, I’ve been working with Transcend for the last two years, taking TRT and a bunch of peptides. Now we got a protocol for all you people that, ‘Oh, what if you get on it, you can’t ever come off.’ Well, I now have to come off and piss clean, fight in a few months. So, watch this.”

“I’m chasing greatness 50 @ufc fights
Not only do I want a win
I want a finish
I want a bonus

Most wins in ufc history
Most finishes
Most bonuses
Most walks to that cage.”

Cerrone has openly said he’s enjoying the perks of no longer being drug tested while retired but knows what is required from him if he plans on competing in the octagon again.

“Cowboy” is currently ranked No. 3 for most fights in UFC history at 38, trailing only Andre Arlovski at 42 and Jim Miller at 44. He is tied at second for most UFC wins at 23, behind Miller’s 26, and is third for most finishes in UFC history.

Donald Cerrone’s MMA retirement appears to be over.

“Cowboy” called it a career after a second-round submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276 in July 2022 — his sixth consecutive loss in the octagon. Now, after 48 overall appearances in the UFC and WEC, and 55 fights total, Cerrone says he’s coming out of retirement with the hopes of getting to 50 overall appearances for the Zuffa brand.

Check out Cerrone’s announcement in the video below.

“I want to go back [to the UFC] and get two more fights,” Cerrone said. “When I retired, I told you I was getting my hair done and getting on steroids.

“The number 50 has been sitting on my mind for a while.”

Cerrone says he’s been working with a company and taking TRT, and a “bunch of peptides” for the last couple of years, but is now getting ready to get off of those in order to get back into the UFC drug-testing pool.

“For all you people who are like, ‘Oh, what if you get on it, you can’t ever come off?’ Well, I now have to come off and piss clean.”

The one-time UFC title challenger says he plans to “fight in a few months.” Following his retirement, Cerrone was inducted into the 2023 class of the UFC Hall of Fame. The 41-year-old holds a number of spots in the record books, including the most combined UFC/WEC post-fight bonuses with 23.

The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has criticised its Nigerian counterpart after its national side returned to West Africa before their Africa Cup of Nations 2025 qualifier in Benghazi.

The Super Eagles squad decided to boycott the match, scheduled to be played at 19:00 GMT on Tuesday, after being stranded at Al Abraq airport when their plane was diverted there on Sunday.

After being kept at the terminal building, in a location about 230km (143 miles) away from their intended destination, the Nigerian delegation flew back home and arrived in Kano on Monday afternoon.

However, Libya have trained and appear set to turn up at the Martyrs Stadium in Benina to fulfil the fixture, despite their opponents boycotting the qualifier.

A statement from the LFF said it “condemns” the steps taken by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) in refusing to play the game, and said it would take “all necessary legal measures” to preserve the interests of the Mediterranean Knights.

Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong defended the squad’s decision to boycott the match on social media.

“Football is about respect, and that starts by respecting ourselves,” he said in a post on X.

“Our goal of doing the best for Nigerian football won’t ever change. I look forward to continue our journey to Afcon 2025 next month in the right way.”

A Confederation of African Football (Caf) disciplinary board is investigating the circumstances after Nigeria were “stranded in disturbing conditions”.

There are several possible outcomes, with the potential for Libya to be awarded a 3-0 victory or Caf ordering the match to be played at a later date.

Appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport are also possible, and Nigeria are set to lodge an official complaint with Caf.

The LFF had earlier complained about the treatment of their players and officials on arrival in Nigeria for a qualifier in Uyo last week, which saw their flight land hours away from the match venue and the players endure long travel delays.

Nigeria won that match 1-0 to move on to seven points at the top of Group D, with Libya bottom on one point and on the brink of elimination.

BKFC star Mike Perry was arrested in Florida on Oct. 12 on a pair of charges, including driving under the influence.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office records confirm that Perry was arrested by the Clermont Police Department on Oct. 12 at 1:04 a.m. local time for the driving under the influence charge, along with an offense of refusing to sign a citation requiring a court appearance, both second-degree misdemeanors. It was Perry’s first DUI offense, according to arrest records.

Perry was released on $1,500 bond later that morning, and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 30. The potential penalties for a second-degree misdemeanor in the State of Florida include a maximum of 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.

The former UFC welterweight transitioned to the world of bare-knuckle boxing, becoming the face of BKFC. Perry is 5-0 in the promotion, including wins over Michael Page, Eddie Alvarez, and Luke Rockhold. In his most recent BKFC appearance, “Platinum” stopped past UFC title challenger Thiago Alves in 60 seconds at BKFC’s KnuckleMania 4 in April.

Following the win over Alves, Perry took on Jake Paul in the main event of a July boxing card in Tampa, where he suffered a sixth-round knockout loss.