New Delhi: Francis Ngannou made his return to MMA after 3 years and knocked out Renan Ferreira in the first round in Saudi Arabia in Professional Fighting League (PFL) on October 20, Sunday. Ngannou last fought in the octagon was way back in 2022, when he defeated Ciryl Gane to retain his UFC Heavyweight title.
After exiting from UFC, Ngannou signed with PFL promotion but didn’t fight in the octagon. He made his transition to boxing and fought Heavyweight giants Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but he lost both his bouts.
After 2 years Ngannou made his return to MMA and fought against PFL Heavyweight champion Rennan Ferreira. Ferreira won his last four fights by knockout out and everybody thought it was a great matchup for Ngannou but Ngannou didn’t waste any time and defeated Ferreira in the very first round.
Ngannou started the bout with some heavy leg kicks and immediately took down Ferriera on the ground and landed some nasty shots on Ferriera in the ground and pound. Ferriera is 6’8 but didn’t use any advantage of that and it was his first loss since 2022.
Francis Ngannou dedicates his victory to his son
It was an emotional moment for Ngannou as he lost his 15-month-old son in April and then after 50 days, he suffered a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua. He also said in the pre-fight conference that his son Kobe is the reason why he is returning to the MMA. It was the first win for Ngannou after his son’s demise in 2024.
After this win, Ngannou said he can still fight under the pressure. Ngannou future in MMA is not clear and will have to wait for his next fight in the octagon.
PFL ‘Battle of Giants’ fight card result:
Francis Ngannou defeated Renan Ferreira via KO
Cris Cyborg defeated Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision
Johnny Eblen defeated Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision
Zafar Mohsen defeated Husein Kadimagomaev via unanimous decision
Paul Hughes defeated A.J. McKee via split decision
