Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, will finally return to the mixed martial arts (MMA) cage when he competes on Sat., Oct. 19, 2024, facing off against current PFL heavyweight titleholder, Renan Ferreira, in a highly-anticipated super fight headlining the promotion’s upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou, 37, hasn’t competed in MMA since defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 back in Jan. 2022 — which marked his sixth straight victory inside the Octagon before getting released by the promotion.
In his first fight back, “The Predator” battles a monster of a man in Ferreira, who stands at 6’8” and has to cut down to 265 pounds. With a perfect moniker of “The Problema,” which means “problem” in Spanish, Ngannou isn’t sweating him one bit.
“Everyone is a problem to some extent. He is ‘The Problema,’ and he is definitely a problem to some people,” said Ngannou during a the recent pre-fight press conference. “As far as I am concerned, he is not a problem. ‘The Problema’ vs’ The Predator,’ I think the nicknames speak for themselves.
Since leaving the UFC ranks, Ngannou has dropped his first two pro boxing fights, a split-decision against Tyson Fury followed by a second-round knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua (see it again here).
That said, “The Predator” hasn’t lost an MMA fight in six years. Though he hasn’t competed in the sport since 2022, Ngannou is determined to remind everyone just how dangerous he is, despite going through a tough year outside the cage.
An emotional Ngannou admitted retirement crossed his mind following the sudden passing of his infant child, but says he later found purpose in returning to combat sports to honor his late son Kobe.
“My goal right now is just not about being back in MMA, it’s about being back in activity, combat sports in general, back to what I love,” Ngannou said. “I always have a purpose. I look for purpose for the reason of what I am doing. Lately, it has been a little tough. I have questioned whether to continue or hang up my gloves and stuff. Then I realized it should be a purpose for me, I didn’t have the chance to fight for my son, man, so this is it.”
Of Ngannou’s last six MMA wins, five have come by way of knockout, four in the very first round. On the flip side, Ferreira’s last six victories have also come by knockout, including his 21-second demolition of Bellator heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader.
In other words, don’t blink when these two behemoths start swinging.