{"id":127685,"date":"2025-05-24T09:52:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T09:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/127685\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T09:52:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T09:52:14","slug":"francis-ngannou-mentions-mike-tyson-in-second-message-since-alleged-involvement-in-fatal-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/127685\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Ngannou mentions Mike Tyson in second message since alleged involvement in fatal crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Francis Ngannou has referenced life’s disturbances in a powerful message following his alleged involvement in a fatal crash.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former UFC<\/a> heavyweight champion was reportedly involved in a tragic accident in his native Cameroon last month.<\/p>\n

\"Ngannou<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Ngannou is one of the best MMA heavyweights of all timeCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

According to Cameroonian news outlets, the 38-year-old crashed into a young woman while riding his motorcycle.<\/p>\n

The unnamed woman was reportedly hospitalised in the country’s capital of Yaounde and had emergency surgery before dying from her injuries.<\/p>\n

Sources suggest that Ngannou has been left, unsurprisingly, devastated after the accident, given he just lost his own 15-month-old son, Kobe, in April 2024<\/a> following an undiagnosed brain malformation.<\/p>\n

Ngannou quoted Mike Tyson<\/a> via Instagram on Friday, seemingly referring to the fatal crash.<\/p>\n

“Life’s difficult paths can sometimes be disturbing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“As Mike Tyson once said, ‘When you’re favoured by God, you’re also favoured by the devil, but remember that God is the one who brings you to the dance.’<\/p>\n

“The harder you fight to stay up, the harder life fights to take you down.”<\/p>\n

Ngannou had previously provided a statement to TMZ Sports at the beginning of this month, expressing his ‘pain’ for the family affected while offering his ‘unwavering thoughts’.<\/p>\n

“From the very beginning, I have been by the family’s side, offering support, comfort, and deepest condolences during this time,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I’ve met with them privately to share in their grief, and I will continue to stand with them every step of the way.<\/p>\n

\"Frewin<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

‘The Predator’ accepted lucrative bouts with Joshua and Fury after leaving the UFCCredit: Mark Robinson\/Matchroom\"He<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

He came close to defeating Fury, but lost via split decisionCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

“I carry their pain with me, and my unwavering thoughts and support remain with them as they face this heartbreaking loss.”<\/p>\n

Ngannou hasn’t fought in MMA<\/a> since October 2024, where he made his debut for the PFL in Saudi Arabia, defeating Renan Ferreira<\/a> to win the promotion’s heavyweight strap.<\/p>\n

This came after he ventured into the boxing world for the first time, running Tyson Fury<\/a> close on his debut in the sport, before being brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ngannou left the UFC after defending his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022, citing contract disputes with the promotions CEO,\u00a0Dana White<\/a>, as a major driving force behind his decision.<\/p>\n

Ngannou had been rumoured to fight current heavyweight champion\u00a0Jon Jones<\/a>\u00a0for years, but the promotion pulled it off.<\/p>\n

The Cameroonian has since joined UFC’s biggest rivals, the PFL, who have allowed him to work his boxing career around being the promotion’s biggest star.<\/p>\n

PFL’s founder Donn Davis has made it clear that Ngannou will favour a boxing fight<\/a> before he goes back to MMA in his promotion.<\/p>\n

PFL Managing Director James Frewin agreed when he spoke to talkSPORT.com about Ngannou’s future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Look, I think Francis is an incredible athlete,” he said. “He’s a linear heavyweight champion of the world.<\/p>\n

“He has ambitions in boxing and I think he has unfinished business in boxing tied to his\u00a0Anthony Joshua\u00a0loss.<\/p>\n

“I think he wants to get that one back and that journey he’s on. Donn is in conversations with Francis.<\/p>\n

“He’s an integral part of PFL Africa. We’re launching that in July – he’s the chairman – and we’re incredibly excited about what’s to come there too.”<\/p>\n

Francis Ngannou’s Record<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Last Five Fights<\/p>\n

W – Renan Ferreira in October 2024 via first-round KO (MMA)<\/p>\n

L – Anthony Joshua in March 2024 via second-round KO (boxing)<\/p>\n

L – Tyson Fury in October 2023 via split-decision (boxing)<\/p>\n

W – Ciryl Gane in January 2022 via unanimous decision (MMA)<\/p>\n

W – Stipe Miocic in March 2021 via second-round KO (MMA)<\/p>\n

\u2018Unfinished business\u2019 \u2013 Francis Ngannou eyeing up Anthony Joshua rematch before MMA return says PFL boss<\/p>\n

PFL Africa is being led by Ngannou, who is acting as the league’s chairman, playing a central role in developing the next generation of African champions.<\/p>\n

Mancunian Dakota Ditcheva will make her MMA return<\/a> in the co-main event of PFL’s debut international league in Africa come July.<\/p>\n

The PFL are yet to comment on Ngannou’s reported involvement in the crash.<\/p>\n

Ngannou has been rumoured to step back into the ring with names like Deontay Wilder<\/a>, before making a return to his primary sport of mixed martial arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Francis Ngannou has referenced life’s disturbances in a powerful message following his alleged involvement in a fatal crash.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[1935,56349,5121,5705,56350,79,27705,5706,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-127685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-francis-ngannou","10":"tag-mike-tyson","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-ngannou","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tyson","15":"tag-ufc","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114562199952563946","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}