Key points
On Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, Francis Ngannou made his return to the MMA cage after 1,000 days out to defend his lineal title.
The hard-hitting Cameroonian never lost his UFC title in the octagon, being stripped when he left to pursue a boxing career and higher payouts. He famously put down Tyson Fury in his first ring effort on route to a split decision loss before being defeated by Anthony Joshua back in March.
And while he faced a stern test in PFL 2023 Global Season champion Renan Ferreira, a gigantic 6’8 knockout artist, he managed to get the job done in exciting fashion.
- Who is Francis Ngannou? Inside the former UFC heavyweight champion’s journey from poverty to combat sports superstardom
It was a night of world title action as the co-main event saw MMA icon Cris Cyborg defeat two-weight PFL champion Larissa Pacheco for the Super Fights title. The Brazilian duo are two of the hardest hitting women in the sport, with Cyborg now winning yet another belt in a major organization.
Then there was Bellator title action as middleweight contender Fabian Edwards was unsuccessful at the second time of asking in attemptingto take the undefeated record of champion Johnny Eblen. The pair had fought before, with Eblen knocking out the Brit in Dublin last year.
Thank you for reading
That was a lot of fun in Riyadh as Francis Ngannou got back to winning ways with a vicious ground and pound knockout.
Please keep up to date with the rest of our coverage throughout the weekend, and thank you very much for reading. That’s all from us!
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FRANCIS NGANNOU STOPS RENAN FERREIRA IN ROUND 1
After a big takedown Ngannou gets to work with his ground and pound and the fight is over quickly. He’s now emotional in the cage! What a moment for the Cameroonian, his first win in almost three years!
[Link]Francis Ngannou is in the MMA cage
For the first time in 1,000 days, the lineal heavyweight champion is in the cage
[Link]Cris Cyborg beats Larissa Pacheco by Unanimous Decision
The legendary Cris Cyborg does it again as she defeats her fellow Brazilian with a grinding performance in our co-main event. Three rounds to two seemed fair, the judges were divided but only in their margins for victory. 49-46 on one and 48-47 on the other two.
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Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco get to the third round
It appears that the legend is taking the third off, just allowing Pacheco to attack after wobbling her in the first.
And Pacheco answers by dropping Cyborg with a big shot and the pair head to the ground again.
[Link]Time for our co-main event
Cris Cyborg takes on two-weight PFL champion Larissa Pacheco in a massive featherweight clash!
[Link]Johnny Eblen beats Fabian Edwards by Unanimous Decision
Another dominant wrestling performance from the American, who stifled the counter-punching of Edwards throughout. That might be that for Fabian Edwards’ chances at Bellator gold after another defeat to Eblen, who remains undefeated.
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Time for title action
Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards do battle for the second time now after the American won the first by knockout
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Zafar Mohsen beats Husein Kadimagomaev by UD
A fight that has flown under the radar, it ends up a dominant win for Mohsen.
[Link]Paul Hughes calls for Usman Nurmagomedov next
And he tells the media here on site that he wants Conor McGregor in the corner in order to add to the spice!
[Link]Paul Hughes beats AJ McKee by Split Decision
Hughes scored a heavy knockdown in round one but had to rely on the judges to record the biggest win of his career courtesy of a 29-28 x2, 28-29 split decision after three rounds of pulsating action.
Huge moment for the Irishman, who now wants the Bellator title!
[Link]Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived
The greatest soccer player of all time is in the house.
In the cage, Paul Hughes has had a phenomenal round, totally stuffing AJ McKee’s work and dropping him at the end of the round. Huge for the Irishman.
Raufeon Stots submits Marcos Breno in round three
The ex-Bellator champion locked up an impressive rear-naked choke and forced the tap.
[Link]Raufeon Stots faces Marcos Breno in the final prelim
The main card begins in a few minutes, former champion Stots is favored here.
[Link]Makkasharip Zaynukov beats Dedrek Sanders by UD
Another decision on this card, that’s two of the three going the distance!
[Link]Makkasharip Zaynukov vs Dedrek Sanders up now
The early card is sprinting along, pacing clearly much improved on previous PFL events. Only four fights on this card now before the main card starts in an hour, though.
[Link]Ibragim Ibragimov beats Nacho Campos by UD
A tough one to watch as the Brit remains undefeated and takes his Spanish rival’s 0. The Dagestani pressure style has been a massive talking point in recent weeks, it is painfully tough to watch.
[Link]Up next is Ibragim Ibragimov vs Nacho Campos
The unbeaten Dagestani-born Brit trains with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and fancies his chances of being the next star from the region. But he may end up being the least famous athlete in his family, with his brothers all on the books at Manchester United.
He faces Spaniard Nacho Campos who is unbeaten in his own right with a 5-0 record. Expect war between these two.
Taha Bendaoud beats Tariq Ismail by R3 sub
Bit of an upset early on as Taha Bendaoud pulls out a triangle off his back in the third!
[Link]How to watch tonight’s PPV
The event is being sold through both DAZN and ESPN+ for $49.99. Both services are subscription based and require you to subscribe first before you can access the PPV livestream.
Otherwise, we will be keeping you posted throughout the night with the results, highlights, pictures and more.
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We are about to get underway
Huge reactions here early for Tariq Ismail and Taha Bendaoud as they head to the cage to kick us off
[Link]Welcome to the Bloody Elbow live blog
Good evening from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the PFL brings you Francis Ngannou vs Renan Ferreira from the Mayadeen. We are going to have all of the action right here on the Bloody Elbow live blog for you from cageside.
My name is Donagh Corby and I will be keeping you posted throughout the night. Hit us up on @BloodyElbow on X and Instagram for your chance to appear in our blog!
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