As debate rages on about who is the rightful heavyweight champion of the world in the UFC, a ‘lineal title’ has been introduced elsewhere.
In January of 2022, Francis Ngannou defended his UFC heavyweight title for the first time against Ciryl Gane. However, he infamously left the promotion afterwards, and was never beaten for his belt on the way out.
Since then, the promotion have struggled to nail on a new champion. Jon Jones was forced out for the best part of two years after winning the vacant title, and he is now facing the semi-retired Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, all while interim champion Tom Aspinall continues to defend his belt.
- Who is Francis Ngannou? Inside the former UFC heavyweight champion’s journey from poverty to combat sports superstardom
Francis Ngannou’s return adds further confusion to heavyweight lineage
After his victory over Gane, Ngannou entered into contract negotiations with the UFC that were supposed to culminate in his signing to face Jon Jones for the belt. However, when that didn’t happen and he left his deal, that threw the heavyweight division into disarray.
Jones, who had never fought above light-heavyweight, was immediately given a chance at the vacant title. But he faced Gane, who was already viewed as damaged goods, and he was never legitimately viewed as having taken over from Ngannou.
He attempted to solidify his legacy by facing Miocic last November, but suffered a pectoral injury that cost him another year of his career. In the meantime, Tom Aspinall stepped up and knocked out a legitimate top contender in Sergei Pavlovich for the interim belt.
While Jones continued to recover from injury, Aspinall even managed to get in a defence of his title against another highly-ranked contender in Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. But he appears to be no closer to a shot at Jones, who has rebooked the matchup with 42-year-old Miocic for UFC 309.
All the while as this was happening, Ngannou was otherwise engaged with a boxing career. He dropped then-WBC and lineal champion Tyson Fury on route to a razor-close split decision loss in October that put him in immediate contention for titles in another sport.
However, he was quickly reminded that he is an MMA fighter when he was viciously knocked out by two-time world champion Anthony Joshua in his sophomore outing. Now, he returns to the cage on Saturday to defend his own lineal status against PFL champion Renan Ferreira.
It all makes for a confusing situation, with none of the three champions seemingly any closer to fighting one another. Jones insists he will retire after facing Miocic, and it would take a miracle or heavy Saudi Arabian funding to get the UFC to cross-promote a bout between Ngannou and Aspinall.
PFL unveils new Super Fights title belt, brands it the ‘lineal heavyweight title’
In an effort to make their position clear; PFL have introduced a new world title for their Super Fights division. This, promotional executives say, is the true world title at heavyweight, with Ngannou finally coming back to the cage having never lost his position as the sport’s number one.
“This weekend, the undisputed lineal heavyweight champion of the world is returning to the sport where he reigned supreme,” Loren Mack, PFL Senior VP Corporate Communications, told Forbes on Monday afternoon.
“Francis Ngannou is undoubtedly the best heavyweight on the planet and he is the lineal heavyweight champion; he never lost his title.
“He now has a chance to defend it in a battle for the lineal heavyweight title against a man who has done everything possible to earn this shot against him. This Saturday, Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira is truly a Battle of the Giants.”
The 12.5lb belt will also be awarded to the winner of Cris Cyborg vs Larissa Pachecho in the featherweight co-main event. The legendary Cyborg has only ever lost twice in the cage, and has won world titles in all major promotions, while Pacheco is a two-weight PFL champion.
PFL today unveiled the new design, which features a number of Easter eggs for hardcore fans. The 10-sided decagon plates are a tribute to the PFL SmartCage. There are also side plates celebrating each division