Francis Ngannou hasn’t competed in MMA since 2022 when he defended his UFC heavyweight title, but his return to the sport is finally official.
‘The Predator’ took a hiatus from MMA when he and the UFC decided to part ways, despite him being the undisputed heavyweight champion.
The main reason for Francis Ngannou‘s UFC exit was because of money, and the 37-year-old decided he wasn’t being offered his worth. After that, he signed a contract with the PFL, allowing him to fight in the boxing ring.
He went on to compete twice in boxing, losing on both occasions against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Francis Ngannou’s MMA return against Renan Ferreira finally made official
Despite having signed with the PFL over a year ago, the former UFC heavyweight champion has yet to appear in the Smart Cage, because of his brief career in the boxing world.
That, though, comes to an end on October 19, when ‘The Predator’ finally makes his highly anticipated PFL debut against last year’s PFL heavyweight champion, Renan Ferreira, the promotion announced on Wednesday, with the location for the event to be announced.
The Brazilian is one of the most feared heavyweights in the world, standing at 6ft 8″ and 11 of his 13 wins have come by knockout.
In his last outing in February, ‘Problema’ beat the Bellator heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader, in a champion vs champion matchup, winning the right to fight Ngannou in his PFL debut.
It seemed as though the 34-year-old would have to wait till next year to finally fight Ngannou, as after ‘The Predator’s’ boxing loss to Joshua in March, he teased at taking another fight in the ring.
As well as the blockbuster heavyweight title fight, the PFL also announced that two-division champion Larissa Pacheco will fight Bellator featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, in the co-main event.
Cyborg has made her frustrations with the promotion known over the past few months, as she continued to publically ask for a fight, claiming that the PFL was not offering her anything.
Renan Ferreira labeled ‘absolute specimen’ by fellow PFL star
Although Ferreira may be a relatively unknown name in the MMA world, amongst his fellow PFL stars he is very well known because of his fierce fight style and towering frame.
Former featherweight tournament winner, Brendan Loughnane, has labeled the Brazilian as an ‘absolute specimen’, commending Ngannou for taking on such a tough challenge in his return.
“A welcome back to MMA against Renan Ferreira, like, that guy is incredible, I mean who at 7ft can do backflips when they win, he’s an absolute specimen, this guy, if he was born in the US would be a linebacker of the highest order, he’s a freak athlete and incredible fighter,” Loughnane told talkSPORT MMA.
The event will be PPV with the price still to be determined along with the location, with more fights to be announced in the next few weeks.