Francis Ngannou returned to MMA on Saturday night and made a statement in less than two minutes. Ngannou knocked out Renan Ferreira in the first round of their PFL clash to claim the Heavyweight Super Fight Champion.
Ngannou returned to MMA for the first time since January 2022. The former UFC heavyweight champion smashed through 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on Saturday, earning a first-round knockout in the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It was an emotional win for Ngannou. Less than 6 months ago, he lost his 15-month-old son to a rare disease in April, just 50 days after suffering a brutal knockout loss to Anthony Joshua. Saturday, October 19th, Ngannou proved he is still one of the badest Heavyweights on the planet.
Ngannou scored a takedown, fended off a triangle attempt, then unloaded with a flurry of unanswered punches from the top, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to step in and save an unconscious Ferreira at the 3:32 minutes of Round 1.
Francis Ngannou Post-Fight
Ngannou was quite emotional during the post-fight interview.
“I can’t just think about anything than my son Kobe, I only took this fight because of him,” Ngannou said post-fight through tears.
“I knew I didn’t miss a step [in MMA], I wasn’t worried about it, because as soon as I walked in the gym for MMA, I knew that everything was still there. It was just about me being able to manage my emotions.”
PFL Title Fight Results
In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg adds a fifth promotion belt to her collection with a unanimous decision victory over two-season PFL champion Larissa Pacheco.
In the Bellator middleweight title bout, Johnny Eblen retains his belt as he defeated Fabian Edwards by unanimous decision in a rematch of a fight last year that Eblen won by knockout.
PFL Battle of the Giants Card, Results
Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira via first-round knockout
Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Johnny Eblen (c) def. Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Zafar Mohsen def. Husein Kadimagomaev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Paul Hughes def. A.J. McKee via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno via third-round submission (Rear Naked choke)
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