This Saturday, PFL and Bellator champions will clash in Saudi Arabia. In the main event of the evening, 2023 heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira (12-3) will be taking on Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (31-7).
While the two men will be battling to determine who is the better heavyweight champion, we just learned today that the fight has even more up for grabs. PFL announced today that former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) will be facing the winner.
Ngannou is currently gearing up for his boxing match against Anthony Joshua that is scheduled for March 8th. We haven’t seen Ngannou compete in MMA since January 2022 when he defeated Ciryl Gane to defend his UFC heavyweight title.
Since then, he’s signed with the PFL and then he had a boxing match last October against Tyson Fury. While no one gave Ngannou a chance in the matchup, Ngannou dropped Fury and took him to a split decision. With his boxing career taking off, many wondered if we’d see him back in MMA anytime soon.
PFL Debut for Ngannou
As of now, there is not a date planned for the heavyweight matchup. Obviously there are a few things in the way of the fight. Ngannou has his boxing match and the Bellator and PFL champions will square off this weekend and a lot will hinge on how their fight goes.
Have to think that Ngannou will be a big favorite no matter who wins the fight on Saturday night. That said, Ngannou has had a very lengthy layoff and it’ll be interesting to see him back in the cage. Either way, it’s a huge deal for the PFL to get Ngannou back in the fold.