Francis Ngannou will finally make his highly anticipated return to mixed martial arts against Renan Ferreira. This heavyweight bout scheduled for five rounds is taking place Saturday, Oct. 19 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou (17-3) and Ferreira (13-3) headline PFL: Battle of the Giants with the promotion’s super fights heavyweight title belt at stake.
Ngannou, 38, hasn’t competed in MMA since successfully defending the UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane on January 22, 2022, which would turn out to be his final fight with the UFC. Roughly one year later, Ngannou left the UFC to sign with the PFL, which granted him permission to pursue his desire to compete in boxing.
Ngannou fought Tyson Fury and lost a split decision after stunningly knocking down boxing’s heavyweight king in October 2023. Ngannou followed up that sterling performance by taking on Anthony Joshua this past March, a fight in which he was dominated and lost by second-round knockout. That result signaled his time to return to MMA, where he’s won six fights in a row dating back to November 2018, with five finishes during that span.
Ferreira, 34, is the reigning 2023 PFL heavyweight champion after scoring three knockouts last season. Ferreira is coming off a 21-second dismantling of Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader this past February.
When does PFL: Battle of the Giants fight card start?
- The PFL: Battle of the Giants lineup consists of nine fights, with prelims starting at 1:30 p.m. ET and the pay-per-view main card at 4 p.m. ET.
Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira walkout time
- As the main event, Ngannou and Ferreira are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 7 p.m. ET.
- The fight will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view in the U.S. and DAZN pay-per-view internationally.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.
