Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is relishing his return to MMA action when he takes on Renan Ferreira in the Professional Fighters League: Battle of the Giants in Riyadh on October 19.
The winner of the heavyweight bout will receive the PFL's newly established super-fights championship belt as Saudi Arabia continues its expansion into the MMA world.
Ngannou’s last UFC appearance was his successful title defence against Cyril Gane in January 2022 before parting ways with the promotion following a contract dispute. Ngannou has won 17 of his 20 MMA bouts, with 12 of his victories coming by knockout.
The Cameroonian then featured in a couple of high-profile heavyweight boxing contests, the first of which saw him almost secure a sensational victory over the then undefeated WBC champion Tyson Fury in October 2023.
What looked on paper an easy night for the Briton turned into near disaster that saw him climb off canvas in the third round before going on to describe his contentious split decision victory (95–94, 96–93, 94–95) as “probably my toughest fight in 10 years”.
He was then back in the ring less than six months later taking on another British fighter in Anthony Joshua but the former WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion produced a ruthless performance, knocking out Ngannou in the second round.
“I told him he shouldn't leave boxing. He's two fights in, and he's fought the best,” insisted Joshua after the bout in Riyadh. “He can go a long way if he stays dedicated.”
But Ngannou has decided the time is right to return to the MMA cage as he takes on the PFL heavyweight champion Ferreira in a co-main event alongside long-time Bellator featherweight title-holder Cris Cyborg's fight against PFL two-weight champion Larissa Pacheco.
“I feel good returning to MMA. I have already been in the gym like always as a fighter and have worked for five successive weeks, not like a camp but working on my reflexes and my game,” Ngannou, 37, told The National in a zoom interview.
“It’s a routine I have been following all through my fighting career. It’s not that you should have a fight to train, but yes, I train for a specific fight when it’s on my schedule. I’ll be ready for the big day.”
Ferreira won the PFL's 2023 heavyweight tournament before defeating Bellator's heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in February, having won 13 of his 19 fights, delivering 11 knockouts.
At 6’8” and four inches taller than Ngannou, the 34-year-old is confident that he can upset his opponent.
“He has a big problem in front of him. I can wrestle him, knock him out, take him down to the ground and submit him,” Ferreira said at a press conference last week.
Those comments were brushed off by Ngannou, though. “Yeah, I mean if you're in this level of fighter and don't believe that you can finish a fight or that you take a fight without believing that you can finish the guy, it means you don't really know what you are doing,” he said in response.
“But again, that's what he's thinking, that's what he's saying, which is quite different about what he is, about what will happen.”
Ngannou has said that he considered retiring from fighting after the death of his 15-month old son in April but is now dedicating his comeback to Kobe.
“I've been living a life, managed to stay alive. You know this is a tough world, it's hard to stay alive, even that is a full-time job,” said Ngannou, who received an outpouring of condolences from fellow fighters in MMA and boxing after revealing the news on social media. “Fighting is a part of my life. Fighting is not life. So, a break was just a part of the process.
“It's not something special. Even when I fight, even when I started, I was fighting and having a break to let myself to reconstruct, to heal, or to do anything else.
“I think it's just how it works. So, there is not a specific thing that will happen to everybody. I didn't have a chance to fight for him [his son], he wasn't sick to the point that we could have taken him to the hospital and try to find a doctor for him. I didn't have that chance. Yes, now I’m back and I dedicate this fight to him.”
