Francis Ngannou makes his highly anticipated return to MMA this weekend against heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira in the headline bout of the Professional Fighters League's aptly named 'Battle of the Giants' show in Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of fight night, here is everything you need to know.
What is it?
The 'Battle of the Giants' is an MMA event that will be headlined by the PFL heavyweight title fight between champion Ferreira and former UFC star Ngannou.
Before the main event, there will be nine other bouts, including two title fights.
When is it?
The event takes place this Saturday, October 19.
Where is it?
Fight night will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom Arena has become a major venue in the world of combat sports, with several high-profile boxing events also being held there, including last Saturday's thrilling undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol.
Who are the headline fighters?
Ngannou returns to the cage for the first time since his acrimonious split from the UFC, where he was the reigning heavyweight champion and one of the promotion's biggest stars.
After a breakdown in negotiations over extending his time with the UFC, Ngannou opted to join the PFL in May last year, making him the league's biggest-ever signing in a deal that extended far beyond a typical fighter's contract.
The deal saw Ngannou become an equity owner and chairman for the upcoming PFL Africa as well as take a place on the PFL's Global Advisory Board. The Cameroonian can also arrange his own sponsorships separate from the PFL and pursue non-MMA opportunities, which he did with a brief and lucrative foray into boxing.
Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury in October last year and almost stunned the world by knocking down the former WBC and lineal heavyweight world champion and taking him to a split decision. His second boxing outing was not quite as successful as Ngannou was knocked clean out by Anthony Joshua in the second round of their bout in March.
Now the Cameroonian returns to his day job and holds a professional MMA record of 17 wins against three losses with 12 knockouts. He is on a run of six straight victories, including his most recent outing - a decision victory over Ciryl Gane in January 2022 in what was his first and only defence of the UFC heavyweight belt.
Ferreira rose to prominence after a successful run in 2023 when he capped off a three-fight winning streak by claiming the PFL heavyweight title. He then began this year’s campaign with a first-round knockout of Bellator champion Ryan Bader at a PFL vs Bellator event on February 24.
The Brazilian has won 13 fights (11 KOs) and lost three with three no contests.
Who is on the undercard?
The co-main event will be the second of three title fights on the card as Cris Cyborg makes her PFL debut against women's featherweight champion Larissa Pacheco.
In a career spanning various MMA promotions including the UFC, Bellator and Strikeforce, Cyborg is regarded as one of the finest female fighters in history and returns to the cage with an impressive 27-2 record.
Pacheco enters the bout off the back of 10 wins in the PFL since May 2021 and boasts a 23-4 record. At 30, she is nine years younger than Cyborg.
Before their bout will be the first title fight of the show when Johnny Eblen (15-0) defends his Bellator middleweight title against Fabian Edwards (13-3).
Earlier on the card, Husein Kadimagomaev (11-1) takes on Zafar Mohsen (13-4) in a featherweight contest, AJ Mckee Jr (22-1) and Paul Hughes (12-1) fight at lightweight, and Raufeon Stots (20-2) and Marcos Breno (15-3) compete in a bantamweight bout.
There is also a lightweight fight between Makkasharip Zaynukov (15-4) and Dedrek Sanders (9-4), and Ibragim Ibragimov (7-0) vs Nacho Campos (5-0), and Tariq Ismail (8-1) against Taha Bendaoud (3-0), both at featherweight.
Home fans will get to cheer on Saudi Arabia’s rising MMA star Mostafa Nada as he takes on Ahmed Sami of Egypt.
What is the fight week schedule?
The build-up to fight night starts on Wednesday with a face-off between Ngannou and Ferreira in the main event and Cyborg and Pacheco in the co-main in Diriyah. The media conference will be held on Thursday.
What time does the event start?
The pre-fight show starts at 8.30pm (UAE time), with the early card getting the action underway from at 9.30pm. The main card is scheduled to begin at midnight.
Are tickets still available?
Tickets can be purchased here.
Where can I watch The Battle of The Giants?
Fans in the region can watch the entire card live on DAZN.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
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Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
