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PFL founder Donn Davis reveals Francis Ngannou will fight in 2024, confirms Cyborg vs. Pacheco

With Francis Ngannou coming up short in his second professional boxing match, PFL founder Donn Davis expects the former…

With Francis Ngannou coming up short in his second professional boxing match, PFL founder Donn Davis expects the former UFC champion to make his PFL debut no later than September of this year.

It’s been a year since Ngannou put pen to paper, signing a ground-breaking deal with the Professional Fighters League. During that time, the Cameroonian stepped inside the squared circle with both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, going 0-2 in the process. It now appears as though Ngannou will head back to the world of MMA for a showdown with the 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament winner in just a few short months.

“Will it be as early as July? Maybe. Will it be as late as September? No later, but you’ll see Francis now in 2024 in the PFL against [Renan Ferreira] what I believe is the fight I’m looking forward to the most in the heavyweight division in all of MMA,” Davis said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

Donn Davis says if Francis Ngannou had won he would not have fought in the PFL until 2025 Q1.

Says Ngannou/Ferreira will happen on PPV sometime between July and September.

Also on that card will be Cyborg/Pacheco.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/cc8qOVAHTn

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) March 20, 2024

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco will also feature alongside francis ngannou’s pFL debut

Offering some additional details about the event itself, Davis revealed that current Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will make her promotional debut in the co-main event against the two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco.

“That will be a pay-per-view fight,” Davis added. “That event will also have Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco as the co-main event. That card will also have Cedric Doumbe against somebody we will announce. So that is going to be big just because of Francis, but it will have other compelling matchups on it.”

Davis added that the card will take place in Riyadh. No other details were offered, but the event will likely emanate from Kingdom Arena — the same venue that hosted the PFL vs. Bellator event on February 24.

Ngannou’s expected opponent, Renan Ferreira, earned the opportunity to welcome ‘The Predator’ to the PFL by dispatching Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in just 21 seconds last month in Saudi Arabia.

Larissa Pacheco grinds out unanimous decision win over Julia Budd – PFL 2 Highlights

On Friday night, Larissa Pacheco returned to the PFL Smart Cage as the 2023 women’s featherweight tournament began. Handing former two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison the first loss of her career in last year’s PFL Championship, Pacheco took her first step toward scoring another million-dollar check as she met women’s MMA veteran Julia Budd in […]

Larissa Pacheco came out in the opening round and immediately pressured Budd. Pacheco was in clear control, imposing her will on the feet, but Budd managed to take things to the ground near the halfway point of the first. Budd maintained top control through the end of the round but offered little offense as Pacheco defended well.

The second round started similarly with Pacheco pressuring, but as she began to slow down, Budd started to find her range which caused a bit of a swing in the live odds. Just over a minute to go, Budd shot in for a takedown but got a little overzealous allowing Pacheco to easily reverse and finish the round on top. Despite the way things ended, the round was very competitive, leaving many fans on Twitter to wonder if we were even going into the second.

Likely knowing the fight was close, Pacheco took a measured approach in the third, working for a takedown and taking Budd’s back by the halfway point. Budd was eventually able to escape out the backdoor and wind up on top, but Pacheco’s strength allowed her to reverse position with just over a minute to go. With seconds to go, Pacheco let her hands go, looking to score as many points as possible before the judges were asked to render their decision.

Official Result: Larissa Pacheco def. Julia Budd via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)