Francis Ngannou successfully returned to MMA on October 19 with the win by knockout against Renan Ferreira. The pair squared off atop the fight card titled “PFL Battle of the Giants” at Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The scheduled for five rounds showdown didn’t go the distance.
On the second minute of the opening round Ngannou took Ferreira down. The latter fought back and made an attempt for a triangle choke. While the Brazilian fighter was being told by referee Dan Miragliotta to stop grabbing the cage with his toes, the Cameroonian-French heavyweight escaped the trouble and started pouring big punches from the top.
As Ferreira was laying flat down on his stomach, the referee called it a day to save him from further punishment. The official time was 3 minutes and 32 seconds into the first round.
With the victory by knockout, Cameroonian-French Francis Ngannou improved to 18-3. The former UFC champion made his first appearance inside the MMA cage in over two and a half years. In his previous outing in January 2022, Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision against
In addition, Ngannou rebounded from a pair of defeats in pro boxing. The 38-year-old was KO’d by Anthony Joshua in the second round in March and dropped a split decision against Tyson Fury last October.
Renan Ferreira, who fought for the second time this year, dropped to 13-4, 3 NC. The 34-year-old PFL champion of Brazil got his four-fight winning streak snapped.
In an all-Brazilian co-feature, former UFC champion and Bellator titleholder Cris “Cyborg” (28-2) defeated two-division PFL champion Larissa Pacheco (23-5) by unanimous decision. After five rounds at featherweight, all three scores were 49-46.
Among other PFL Battle of the Giants results, Johnny Eblen (16-0) of Des Moines, Iowa retained his Bellator middleweight title in a five-round rematch against Fabian Edwards (13-4) of Jamaica. All three judges scored the fight 48-47.
Plus, Zafar Mohsen (14-4) of Afghanistan defeated Husein Kadimagomaev (11-2, 1 NC) of Switzerland by unanimous decision at featherweight. All three scores were 30-27.
In the PPV opener, Paul Hughes (13-1) of Northern Ireland defeated former Bellator 145 lbs champion AJ McKee (22-2) of Long Beach, California by split decision. After three rounds at lightweight, one judge scored the fight 29-28 in favor of McKee, while two other judges had the same for Hughes.
Atop the prelims, Houston’s Raufeon Stots (21-2) submitted Brazilian Marcos Breno (13-4) via rear-naked choke in the third round at bantamweight. Among other bouts, Makkasharip Zaynukov (16-4) took a unanimous decision against Nashville’s Dedrek Sanders (9-5) at lightweight.
As well, Ibragim Ibragimov (8-0) scored a unanimous decision against Spain’s Nacho Campos (5-1) at featherweight. In the event opener also at featherweight, Taha Bendaoud (4-0) of Morocco defeated Tariq Ismail (8-2) of Canada by way of Sudan via triangle choke in the second round.