The PFL caused major waves this morning when they officially announced a Super Fight event that will go down on October 19th. While a location is TBD at the moment, the rumor mill had stated that this event would be going down in Saudi Arabia. The main event will feature the highly anticipated debut of the man who was the biggest signing in PFL history.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) will return to MMA to take on 2023 heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira (13-3, 3 NC). Earlier this year in the champions versus champions card, Ferreira took on and knocked out Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader to earn this shot against Ngannou.
In the 2022 season, Ferreira had made the playoffs but fell short against eventual champion Ante Delija. Last season, he made up for it. He lost his first fight of the season, but that was overturned to a No Contest after his opponent popped for an illegal substance. From there, Ferreira took off.
He knocked out Matheus Scheffel in the first round to earn a spot in the playoffs. In the semifinals, he knocked out Maurice Greene in the first round to earn a shot against Denis Goltsov in the PFL World Championships. After a tough first round, Ferreira stormed back knocking out Goltsov to become champion. Then, he had his career-defining knockout win over Bader and now he takes on Francis Ngannou.
PFL Super Fights
Francis Ngannou’s UFC contract was up at the end of 2022. Once he was free to go wherever he wanted, he began negotiations with the PFL and ultimately signed with the promotion. One of the big things for Ngannou was having the ability to pursue boxing. While he signed with the promotion back in 2023, this October will mark his debut.
Last October, he boxed former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury who was still a champion and undefeated at the time. Ngannou shocked the world by dropping Fury and going the distance. Personally, I had Ngannou winning, but he lost a razor close split decision against the man who was considered at the time to be the best boxer in the world at heavyweight.
Ngannou returned to the boxing ring earlier this year against former world champion Anthony Joshua. Unfortunately, this one didn’t go nearly as well as Ngannou was knocked out cold in the second round. Now, he focuses back on the sport that made him a champion and he’ll make his promotional debut against the baddest man that the PFL has to offer.