•Francis Ngannou
Former UFC heavyweight champion and boxing star Francis Ngannou was reportedly “involved in a fatal motorbike accident in Cameroon” on Sunday, April 27, 2025, according to multiple news outlets in the country, including Camer.be, Lebledparle, and ActuCameroun.
The publications stated that Ngannou, 38, was riding a motorcycle in the Omnisports district of Yaounde when he “was in a collision with a 17-year-old girl.”
Local press have identified the victim as Ntsama Brigitte Manuella. Reports indicate that she sustained severe injuries to her arm and leg in the collision.
According to these sources, Ngannou “rushed her to hospital himself” to the Yaounde General Hospital, where she later died.
Ngannou is reportedly “devastated” by the tragic incident. It is also reported that he “paid her medical expenses.”
Cameroonian authorities are expected to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the crash, which occurred over the Easter weekend.
The initial report of the incident came from Cameroon-Online, which presented conflicting accounts. One account claimed Ngannou was in a vehicle that struck the victim on a motorbike, while another stated she was a pedestrian, and he was riding the bike at the time of the collision.
A month prior to the reported accident, Ngannou posted photos of himself on what appeared to be an off-road motorcycle in the Cameroonian countryside. However, it remains unknown if this was the same motorcycle involved in the fatal crash.
This news follows a period of significant personal tragedy for Ngannou, whose 15-month-old son, Kobe, passed away suddenly in April of last year.
Ngannou last competed in October of last year, where he knocked out Renan Ferreira to win the PFL heavyweight title upon his return to MMA.
Before that, he had transitioned to boxing after leaving the UFC as a free agent, participating in high-profile fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia, both of which he lost.
