Seventeen months since he signed with the PFL, 21 months since he left the UFC, and 1001 days since his last MMA fight, Francis Ngannou’s PFL debut is finally here.
Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, is scheduled to headline the PFL’s second pay-per-view event of the year – PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants – on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He will take on last year’s PFL heavyweight champion, Renan Ferreira, a 6-foot-8 knockout artist from Brazil.
In the co-main event, Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will take on 2023 PFL champ Larissa Pacheco in a highly anticipated bout. The undercard also features a Bellator middleweight title rematch between champion Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards, as well as a lightweight tilt between AJ McKee and Paul Hughes.
Here are the three biggest storylines ahead of Ngannou’s return to MMA and the PFL’s latest pay-per-view offering.
Is Ngannou still one of the best heavyweights in the world?
A lot of time has passed since Ngannou captured the UFC heavyweight title with a violent knockout of Stipe Miocic in March 2021 and then defended it with a unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane in January 2022.
Since then, Jon Jones won the vacant heavyweight belt and Tom Aspinall emerged as the heir to the throne. Ngannou had two lucrative boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua – both losses – the latter of which being a devastating second-round knockout that could have a lasting impact on Ngannou. He’s also 38 years old now – nearing the end of the road, even at heavyweight.
The last time he fought in MMA, he was unquestionably the baddest man on the planet. Now, it is a lot less clear.
Ngannou’s fight against Ferreira will answer several questions regarding his standing in the heavyweight division. It may not settle the debate of whether he would beat Jones or Aspinall, but his performance will give us a good idea about whether he is still an elite fighter.
Ferreira is not a household name, but he is one of the scariest heavyweights in MMA right now. Ferreira scored three straight knockout wins – two in the first round – to claim the PFL heavyweight championship in 2023, and then he ran through Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader in 21 seconds in February. Ferreira is taller than Ngannou, has a slightly longer reach, and will weigh just as much. Initially, when Ngannou signed with the PFL in May 2023, there were concerns that the promotion had no viable opponents for Ngannou to fight. But Ngannou has met his match – at least on a physical level – with Ferreira.
If Ngannou blitzes Ferreira and gets his first victory in combat sports since January 2022, it would reignite his star power and put him back on the map as a top MMA heavyweight. But if Ferreira pulls off a stunner, it could signal the beginning of the end for “The Predator.”
Will Pacheco emerge as a top-5 pound-for-pound fighter? Or is that still Cyborg?
The PFL zeroed in on a bout between Cyborg and Pacheco earlier this year when Kayla Harrison left the promotion to sign with the UFC, and it quickly became one of the most anticipated matchups that the PFL could make. Saturday’s co-main event has huge stakes pertaining to the pound-for-pound picture and will be a measuring stick for both women.
Cyborg is one of the greatest fighters in women’s MMA history, having held championships in the UFC, Bellator, and Invicta FC. The Brazilian knockout artist has lost just once since her pro debut in 2005, to former UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes. And she’s beaten many, many notable names, from Holly Holm to Cat Zingano to Julia Budd.
But just like Ngannou, Cyborg is nearing the end at 39 years old and hasn’t been very active in MMA. Cyborg has stepped into the cage just once in the last two-and-a-half years, though she’s kept busy with a few boxing matches – against low-level opposition – in that time. Is Cyborg still the dominant force that fans have come to expect over the years, or has her time run out?
Meanwhile, Pacheco has an opportunity to jump toward the top of the women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Pacheco flew under the radar for a long time but has proved herself over the last two years by winning two straight PFL championships and becoming the only fighter to beat Harrison. But adding a win over Cyborg to her resume would be the biggest boost to her stock yet. It would confirm Pacheco is one of the four or five best women’s fighters on planet Earth.
Does Hughes have what it takes to be a title contender?
Hughes, the former Cage Warriors featherweight champion who signed with the PFL earlier this year, is being thrown into the deep end in his second appearance with the organization.
Hughes’ opponent, McKee, is a former Bellator featherweight champ and, for a while, a top-five fighter in that division. Now competing at lightweight and seeking his fifth straight win, the 22-1 McKee is by far the biggest test of Hughes’ career.
Giving Hughes such a difficult matchup at this point in his tenure is risky, but the PFL’s gamble could pay off. We’ll quickly find out if the 27-year-old is ready to fight someone like Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title, and if Hughes does beat McKee, his star power could skyrocket.
