“Problema” wanted to make sure that what he said did not cause a
problem.
At the
“Battle for the Giants: Brace for Impact” press conference on
Thursday, heavyweights Francis
Ngannou and Renan
Ferreira took the stage in Washington, D.C., to help sell their
upcoming slugfest. The two will throw down atop an event in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 19 to define the Professional Fighters League heavyweight
champion. During the presser, one comment was potentially
misinterpreted by the Brazilian speaking through a translator,
sparking controversy from fans and fighters alike.
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Ngannou, who is still recovering from the loss of his 15-month-old
son Kobe, mockingly used Ferreira’s nickname of “Problema” to
question the Brazilian’s ability inside the cage. Ngannou
considered retiring after his son’s passing, but decided to instead
honor his memory by competing.
“Everyone is a problem, and he certainly is a problem for some
people. But in my opinion, it is not a problem. It’s going to be
the Problem vs. the Predator. I think the nicknames speak for
themselves,” the Cameroonian said with a laugh.
In response, Ferreira, without directly mentioning Ngannou’s son,
stated that his opponent will have a big problem with him.
“Francis has been going through a tough year in his life, but the
toughest challenge in his life and in his year is gonna be me. I’m
gonna be the biggest problem of his year,” Ferreira appeared to
have said.
The Brazilian’s retort received a wave of criticism on social
media. Ferreira, who is also a father, followed up when learning of
the backlash, posting a video in Portuguese clarifying what he
meant.
“I saw that some things were completely distorted in the press
about what I said,” Ferreira weighed in. “Obviously, I was
referring to the fight. I’m a father, I have children too, and I
would never consider something so low. I had already given my
condolences to him and I would never do that. We were promoting the
fight and, in my response, when he said that I wouldn’t be a
problem, I referred to the fact that he had two setbacks in boxing
and is two years away from MMA. I would never mean something like
that [towards his child].”