Francis Ngannou took less than four minutes to knock out Renan Ferreira, marking an emotional return to mixed martial arts (MMA).
The former UFC heavyweight champion stepped back into the cage for the first time in over two years, having last defended his title against Ciryl Gane. In the interim, Ngannou had pursued a brief boxing career, narrowly losing to Tyson Fury on points before suffering a brutal second-round knockout against Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou had originally faced Ferreira prior to his loss to Joshua. True to his word, he returned to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) to take on the formidable Brazilian champion, despite the heart-wrenching loss of his one-year-old son earlier this year. Ferreira, who claimed the PFL heavyweight title last year, had defeated Ryan Bader earlier in 2024 to set up the highly anticipated clash with Ngannou.
After a cautious opening minute, Ngannou unexpectedly took the fight to the ground, executing a takedown before unleashing a relentless barrage of ground-and-pound strikes to finish the contest.
Fighting through tears, Ngannou dedicated the victory to his late son: “I can’t think of anything but my son, Kobe. I only took this fight because of him,” he said, visibly emotional.
“I fought for him. I hope people remember his name, because without Kobe, I wouldn’t be here tonight. I wouldn’t have fought.”
In the co-main event, featherweight Cris Cyborg became the PFL’s first Superfight champion with a unanimous decision victory over fellow Brazilian, Larissa Pacheco. Cyborg, who also holds the Bellator featherweight title, edged out the two-weight PFL champion over five hard-fought rounds, securing a 49-46 victory on all three judges’ scorecards.
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