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.”

Premier League players aged under 21 are spending longer sidelined through injury than ever before, with knee problems on the rise, a study has shown.

New data from global insurance group Howden’s ‘Men’s European Football Injury Index’ has revealed similar trends across Europe’s top men’s leagues.

The revelations come as club and international calendars face increasing scrutiny, with many players arguing congested schedules threaten their welfare.

James Burrows, head of sport at Howden, highlighted the “ever-increasing physical demands” on players as a reason for the spike in injuries.

“As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods,” he said.

Players’ union Fifpro has made the same argument, external. Its 2024 Player Workload Monitoring Report claims 78% of coaches and 72% of players surveyed support the implementation of a guaranteed rest period in the calendar.

The same report detailed how England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham played 251 competitive games before reaching the age of 21 in June, while ex-England captain David Beckham played 54 in comparison.

The Professional Footballers’ Association said some players “feel that they are being pushed to, and beyond, their physical limits”.

“We can also see that players are absorbing this workload at a younger age than ever before, playing more and more minutes,” said a PFA spokesperson.

“We’ve always said that football’s approach to its calendar must be player-led, and based on a proper understanding of how players can physically cope with those demands. That’s especially true for young players, who we want to have long as well as successful careers.”

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.

HARRY KANE has spoken out about Thomas Tuchel with the former Chelsea boss closing in on taking over as England manager.

Three Lions captain Kane has heralded Tuchel as a “fantastic coach” amid the speculation.

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Kane, who played under Tuchel last season with Bayern Munich, told Sky Sports: “Until it’s announced obviously I can’t really comment, but we have to wait and see.

“Obviously, I know Thomas well from last year. Fantastic coach, fantastic person, so I am sure the guys at the FA will contact me, when they know more about it.”

Tuchel is understood to be in advanced talks with the FA over becoming the long-term successor to Gareth Southgate.

No deal has been agreed with the 51-year-old coach yet but talks are expected to continue over the next 24 hours.

Tuchel, who has been without a job since he was sacked at Bayern Munich boss in the summer, would become England’s third overseas boss should he be appointed.

The German would follow in the footsteps of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

Tuchel began his managerial career with FC Ausburg II before earning a spot in the dugouts at some of Europe’s biggest teams – including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

His time at Stamford Bridge saw him guide the Blues to the 2021 Champions League title.

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Tuchel is familiar with England captain Kane having been the man who signed him for Bayern last summer.

Despite Tuchel ultimately losing his job, the tactician helped Kane to his best ever goalscoring season.

The 31-year-old bagsman netted an astonishing 44 times in 45 games last term, winning the Bundesliga Golden Boot as Bayern missed out on the title.

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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.