For the first time in more than 1,000 days, Francis Ngannou will be in a mixed martial arts fight. Ngannou faces Renan Ferreira on Saturday at PFL Battle of the Giants.
Ngannou and Ferreira will be clashing with the PFL heavyweight superfight title on the line. Ngannou last fought in MMA when he defended the UFC heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane in January 2022. One year later, Ngannou was stripped of the title and released from his contract when he and the UFC couldn’t agree to terms on a new deal, making MMA’s best heavyweight a free agent.
Ngannou signed with PFL but has yet to fight for the organization, instead following his dream of participating in huge boxing matches. Ngannou was a hair away from an all-time historic upset in his first boxing outing, knocking down Tyson Fury and losing a split decision. His second fight did not go as well, with Ngannou suffering a brutal knockout against Anthony Joshua.
While Ngannou was testing his fortunes in the boxing ring, Ferreira was ascending the ranks in MMA. Ferreira is riding a four-fight winning streak that saw him win the 2023 PFL season heavyweight championship and then knock out Ryan Bader in a PFL vs. Bellator championship showdown.
CBS Sports will be with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from PFL Battle of the Giants below. The main card begins at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
PFL Battle of the Giants card, results
- Francis Ngannou -320 vs. Renan Ferreira +230, PFL heavyweight superfight title
- Larissa Pacheco -150 vs. Cris Cyborg +120, PFL women’s featherweight superfight title
- Johnny Eblen (c) -400 vs. Fabian Edwards +275, Bellator welterweight title
- Husein Kadimagomaev -1000 vs. Zafar Mohsen +550, featherweights
- A.J. McKee -175 vs. Paul Hughes +135, lightweights
- Raufeon Stots -750 vs. Marcos Breno +460, bantamweights
- Makkasharip Zaynukov -450 vs. Dedrek Sanders +300, lightweights
- Ibragim Ibragimov -1200 vs. Macho Campos +600, featherweights
- Tariq Ismail vs. Taha Bendaoud, featherweights
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