Tag: Raufeon Stots

PFL: Battle Of The Giants Results & Highlights: Francis Ngannou Batters Renan Ferreira

PFL Battle of the Giants: Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira took place on pay-per-view Saturday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! The Professional Fighters League hosted its second PPV of the year at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the main attraction saw former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou make his […]

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PFL Battle of the Giants: Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira took place on pay-per-view Saturday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

The Professional Fighters League hosted its second PPV of the year at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the main attraction saw former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou make his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts.

Having not competed in the cage since a victory over Ciryl Gane in January 2022 — completing a pair of boxing matches opposite Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the period since — “The Predator” made an emphatic MMA comeback at the expense of last year’s PFL heavyweight title winner Renan Ferreira, whom he pummeled inside one round.

Setting the stage for the headliners was another Super Fights championship clash, with reigning Bellator featherweight queen Cris Cyborg debuting in the SmartCage opposite the PFL’s first two-weight champion, Larissa Pacheco. The 39-year-old legend continued to make history, capturing gold in a fifth major promotion by outpointing her fellow countrywoman.

Elsewhere, Bellator gold was on the line in the Middle East when middleweight champ Johnny Eblen ran it back with Fabian Edwards and the stakes were high when the massively touted Paul Hughes got a step up in competition against AJ McKee.

With the event concluded, see below for the full results, followed by all the highlights!

PFL Battle Of The Giants: Ngannou vs. Ferreira Results & Highlights

Main Card:

  • Heavyweight Superfight Championship: Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira via KO (ground punches): R1, 3:32
  • Women’s Featherweight Superfight Championship: Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
  • Bellator Middleweight Championship: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
  • Featherweight: Zafar Mohsen def. Husein Kadimagomaev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Lightweight: Paul Hughes def. AJ McKee via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Preliminary Card:

  • Bantamweight: Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno via submission (rear-naked choke): R3: 3:01
  • Lightweight: Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
  • Featherweight: Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Featherweight: Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail via submission (triangle choke): R2, 3:51

Taha Bendaoud Def. Tariq Ismail

Ibragim Ibragimov Def. Nacho Campos

Makkasharip Zaynukov Def. Dedrek Sanders

Raufeon Stots Def. Marcos Breno

Paul Hughes Def. AJ McKee

Zafar Mohsen Def. Husein Kadimagomaev

Johnny Eblen Def. Fabian Edwards

Cris Cyborg Def. Larissa Pacheco

Francis Ngannou Def. Renan Ferreira

Continue Reading PFL: Battle Of The Giants Results & Highlights: Francis Ngannou Batters Renan Ferreira at MMA News.

PFL Fighter’s Cornerman Leaves Riyadh For UFC Debut On 4 Days’ Notice

This weekend’s UFC Fight Night card has gone through a change to it’s main card that will see a highly regarded prospect step in for his Octagon debut. Former TUF finalist Brady Hiestand was set to return in a bantamweight contest with Jake Hadley. England’s Hadley made the move up to 135-pounds from flyweight after […]

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This weekend’s UFC Fight Night card has gone through a change to it’s main card that will see a highly regarded prospect step in for his Octagon debut. Former TUF finalist Brady Hiestand was set to return in a bantamweight contest with Jake Hadley.

England’s Hadley made the move up to 135-pounds from flyweight after taking a short notice fight with Caolan Loughran at UFC 304 and securing the victory.

However, with Hiestand out of the fight, Cameron Smotherman will now replace him in order to make his UFC debut on just a few days notice. The most noteworthy aspect of this is that Smotherman already had plans for this weekend. Plans that saw him travel to Riyadh.

Following the announcement of the fight, reported by Alex Behunin, Raufeon Stots posted that the 27-year old was set to be in his corner at Battle Of The Giants on Saturday night. The former interim Bellator bantamweight champion will face Marcos Breno on the biggest night in the history of the PFL.

Now he will try to get the win with one less cornerman due to the fact that Smotherman’s gone back to Las Vegas in order to try and capitalize on this opportunity.

Smotherman previously fought for a UFC contract back on last year’s season of Dana White’s Contender Series where he was stopped in the opening round. Following three consecutive wins under the Fury FC banner, he’s back with a point to prove.

Stots posted the following message in response to Behunin’s post about the new fight that will take place at the Apex this weekend.

“i thought i was dreaming last night when he told me here in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. It was like 3:30 am. Lost a corner but Couldn’t be happier for one of my best training partners.”

Continue Reading PFL Fighter’s Cornerman Leaves Riyadh For UFC Debut On 4 Days’ Notice at MMA News.

PFL Announces Full Card For ‘Battle Of The Giants’ PPV Headlined By Francis Ngannou

The PFL has announced the full card for “Battle of the Giants”, the promotion’s huge event in Riyadh on October 19. We already knew about four fights, which regardless of the rest of the card, were going to make this one of the biggest nights in the history of the promotion. Between Francis Ngannou’s MMA […]

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The PFL has announced the full card for “Battle of the Giants”, the promotion’s huge event in Riyadh on October 19.

We already knew about four fights, which regardless of the rest of the card, were going to make this one of the biggest nights in the history of the promotion.

Between Francis Ngannou’s MMA return against Renan Ferreira, Cris Cyborg vs Larissa Pacheco, the Bellator middleweight title rematch between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards plus a fantastic lightweight bout with AJ McKee taking on Paul Hughes, this card was certainly PPV worthy.

We now know the remaining six bouts that will fill up the rest of the evening and though they’re still noteworthy, they don’t quite match up in box office value compared to the big four that were previously announced.

Rounding out the main card is a featherweight clash between Switzerland’s Husein Kadimagomaev and Germany’s Zafar Mohsen.

The most notable name to be added is Raufeon Stots, who will be fighting in the featured prelim against Marcos Breno.

This will be Stots’ first fight of the year following his victory over Danny Sabatello in November last year at Bellator 301.

See the full card for “Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact” listed below:

Main card:

Heavyweight Main Event: Francis Ngannou (17-3) vs. Renan Ferreira (13-3, 3 NC) 
Women’s Featherweight Co-Main Event: Cris “Cyborg” (27-2, 1 NC) vs. Larissa Pacheco (23-4)
Bellator Middleweight World Title Bout: Johnny Eblen (15-0) vs. Fabian Edwards (13-3)
Featherweight Main Card Bout: Husein Kadimagomaev (11-1, 1 NC) vs Zafar Mohsen (13-4)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: AJ McKee (22-1) vs. Paul Hughes (12-1)

    Early Card:

    Bantamweight Early Card Bout: Raufeon Stots (20-2) vs Marcos Breno (15-3)
    Lightweight Early Card Bout: Makkasharip Zaynukov (15-4) vs Dedrek Sanders (9-4)
    Featherweight Early Card Bout: Ibragim Ibragimov (7-0) vs Nacho Campos (5-0)
    Middleweight Early Card Bout: Mostafa Nada (9-3) vs Ahmed Sami (11-4-0, 1 NC) 
    Featherweight Early Card Bout: Youssef Al Housani (4-1) vs Taha Bendaoud (3-0)

    Read also: Muhammad Mokaev Claims His Pay Is Three Times Higher After UFC Release

    Continue Reading PFL Announces Full Card For ‘Battle Of The Giants’ PPV Headlined By Francis Ngannou at MMA News.

    Chael Sonnen: Doug Crosby Called Stots/Sabatello “Straight”

    Former UFC star Chael Sonnen has looked to defend Douglas Crosby after the MMA judge came under fire for some controversial scorecards earlier this month. While December 9 and December 10 saw the UFC and Bellator stage events that both featured gold on…

    Former UFC star Chael Sonnen has looked to defend Douglas Crosby after the MMA judge came under fire for some controversial scorecards earlier this month. While December 9 and December 10 saw the UFC and Bellator stage events that both featured gold on the line and a host of intriguing names in action, the main…

    Continue Reading Chael Sonnen: Doug Crosby Called Stots/Sabatello “Straight” at MMA News.

    MMA Judge Douglas Crosby Under Fire After High-Profile Weekend

    Douglas Crosby’s scorecards from last weekend’s UFC 282 and Bellator 289 resulted in the MMA judge receiving quite a bit of attention online. Bellator 289 took place on Friday and featured the semifinal fights for the promotion’s bantamweig…

    Douglas Crosby’s scorecards from last weekend’s UFC 282 and Bellator 289 resulted in the MMA judge receiving quite a bit of attention online. Bellator 289 took place on Friday and featured the semifinal fights for the promotion’s bantamweight tournament in addition to a bout for the women’s flyweight belt. The card’s main event saw Raufeon…

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    Bellator 289 Live Results & Highlights

    Bellator 289 takes place tonight on SHOWTIME, and MMA News has all the results and highlights from the action! The rivalry between Stots and Sabatello has been ongoing since this Summer. Both fighters are in the Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix to…

    Bellator 289 takes place tonight on SHOWTIME, and MMA News has all the results and highlights from the action! The rivalry between Stots and Sabatello has been ongoing since this Summer. Both fighters are in the Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix to determine the undisputed bantamweight champion. However, Stots is going into his fight with Sabatello as…

    Continue Reading Bellator 289 Live Results & Highlights at MMA News.