WASHINGTON DC — Francis Ngannou is back in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world.
It’s been a rough but financially fruitful road traveled for Ngannou outside of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The former Heavyweight champion has fought twice in professional boxing matches after he relinquished his title and parted ways with UFC in January 2023. Unfortunately for “The Predator,” the results didn’t come as he hoped, losing both his matches to top pound-for-pound boxers, Tyson Fury (watch highlights) and Anthony Joshua (watch highlights).
Ngannou, 37, finally returns to caged competition when welcomed to Professional Fighters League (PFL) by the 2023 Heavyweight champion, Renan Ferreira, at PFL Super Fights PPV in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 19, 2024. The banter took a surprisingly dark turn when Ferreira made a controversial comment that alluded to the death of Ngannou’s 15-month-old son.
“Francis has been going through a tough year in his life, but the toughest challenge in his life and his year is gonna be me,” Ferreira said at the PFL Super Fights PPV pre-fight press conference. “I’m gonna be the biggest problem of his year.”
Several Brazilian fighters have come out to say there was a lapse in translation from the interpreter, or at least believe that it wasn’t meant in the way it was stated.
The fight will be Ngannou’s first in MMA since he successfully defended his title by unanimous decision against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. The 6-foot-8 Ferreira, 24, has fought eight times since then, going 5-1 and 2 no contests (13-3, 3 no contests overall) with a PFL title among the victories.
UPDATE: Ferreira has since clarified his comments.
“I just want to make something clear,” Ferreira tweeted. “@francisngannou is a great man & i respect him. When i said that i was going to be his biggest this year i was talking about Anthony Joshua & Tyson Fury, not about his family. I am a father myself.”
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