Ngannou Vs. Ferreira Fight Card

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is in Saudi Arabia for today’s PFL: Battle of the Giants Super Fights card. In the main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou faces PFL heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira. Meanwhile, in the PFL co-main event, Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg meets two-time PFL tournament winner Larissa Pacheco at 145 pounds. PFL Super Fights titles are on the line for each contest.

Today’s PFL fight card takes place at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card of the event airs on ESPN+ PPV at 4:00 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Ngannou (17-3) has not fought inside the cage since he scored a unanimous decision over Ciryl Gane in January 2022. Ngannou departed the UFC as the reigning champion after he and the promotion could not come to terms on a contract.

At the time, Ngannou said, “In that contract, I’m not free. In that contract, I’m not an independent contractor. In that contract, I have no rights, I have no power. I hand over all the power to you guys, and I’ve seen in the past how you can utilize that power.”

During his time with the UFC, Ngannou went 12-2 with two winning streaks of six fights that were interrupted by decision setbacks to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis.

Ngannou signed with the PFL in May 2023. Since then, he has had two lucrative boxing bouts, losing a decision to Tyson Fury in October 2023 and getting knocked out by Anthony Joshua in March of this year.

Ferreira (13-3-0-3) is enjoying the best run of his MMA career. In November 2023 he earned $1 million for winning the PFL heavyweight tournament with a knockout win over Denis Goltsov. Then, in February, he scored a 21-second knockout win over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader to win the “PFL Champion vs. Bellator Champion” Super Belt.

Cyborg (27-2-0-1) has not lost since she dropped the UFC featherweight title to Amanda Nunes in December 2018. The 39-year-old has won seven straight since then, with five of those bouts ending via stoppage. Cyborg last fought in October 2023 when she picked up a TKO over Cat Zingano in defense of her Bellator title. Twenty-two of Cyborg’s wins have been stoppages, giving her an 81 percent finish rate.

Pacheco (23-4) is unbeaten since she dropped a decision to highly-ranked UFC fighter Kayla Harrison in the finals of the 2019 PFL lightweight tournament. The 30-year-old is 10-0 since that setback with two PFL tournament titles. One of those tournament wins came in 2022 when she defeated Harrison. Pacheco has seven knockouts during her 10-fight winning streak. Nineteen of the 30-year-olds wins are stoppages. Pacheco has an 83 percent finish rate. Pacheco last fought in November 2023 when she beat Marina Mokhnatkina to win her second PFL tournament.

PFL Battle of the Giants Winners

Johnny Eblen: Johnny Eblen retained his Bellator middleweight title and his perfect record with a decision win over Fabian Edwards in a rematch of their September 2023 matchup, which Eblen won via knockout.

Eblen’s wrestling, clinch work, and ground control shut down Edward’s offense throughout the five-round battle.

Zafar Mohsen: Zafar Mohsen shut down the wrestling of Husein Kadimagomaev and had more effective striking, which was enough for him to pick up a decision win in the featherweight bout that preceded the three title fights on Saturday’s PFL fight card.

Paul Hughes: When the PFL booked Paul Hughes against former Bellator champion A.J. McKee, there were some who thought that the matchup would be too big of a step up in competition for the former Cage Warriors champion. Hughes answered those questions and more on Saturday with an incredible performance.

Hughes’ striking was on point throughout the fight. He mixed up his targets and techniques and came very close to finishing the contest in the closing seconds of the first stanza. Hughes has power and speed on his feet, and his fight IQ is impressive. The 27-year-old also did well against McKee’s wrestling, fighting off takedowns and not accepting positions when McKee picked up an advantage.

Hughes is ready to face tough competition in PFL’s lightweight division.

Raufeon Stots: Raufeon Stots had a slow start against Marcos Breno. Breno controlled everything about the first four minutes of the contest. However, Stots weathered the storm and got his wrestling working. That wrestling and ground control led him to pick up a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.

Makkasharip Zaynukov: Makkasharip Zaynukov put on a dominant performance against Dedrek Sanders. Zaynukov showed his striking early, mixing up his targets and techniques, but were he shined was on the mat. His takedowns and control were on point for the first two rounds of the fight. Then, in the third stanza, Zaynukov opened up his striking on the mat and looked for the finish, which did not come.

Ibragim Ibragimov: Ibragim Ibragimov did his thing against Nacho Campos. That thing was dominating on the mat through wrestling while remaining focused and looking for openings for strikes and submissions.

The 20-year-old from Dagestan showed a lot of composure and skills in overwhelming his opponent, Nacho Campos, during their featherweight matchup. His style and approach should be familiar to those who have been following the development and growth of MMA in Dagestan.

Ibragimov looks ready for a step up in competition despite his young age. He moved to 8-0 with the decision win and lived up to his “Mauler” nickname.

Taha Bendaoud: Taha Bendaoud wanted to keep his fight against Tariq Ismail standing. He could not do that. Ismail’s takedowns and ground striking were too much for Bendaoud, who was bleeding from facial cuts as the fight wore on. However, Bendaoud’s active guard paid off in the second round as he snatched up a triangle choke when Ismail got lackadaisical with his striking.

PFL Battle of the Giants Losers

Fabian Edwards: Fabian Edwards seemed to have a game plan of using his speed and movement to score on counters against Johnny Eblen. The problem with that approach was that Eblen’s pressure and wrestling didn’t provide Edwards the opportunities to implement his strategy.

Edwards could have adjusted as the fight wore on, upped his pressure, and forced Eblen to fight off his back foot. He did not do that until the final round, which allowed Eblen to control the fight on the ground and in the clinch.

Husein Kadimagomaev: Husein Kadimagomaev was a massive betting favorite over Zafar Mohsen, but he could not get his wrestling going during the three-round featherweight bout. Without his wrestling, Kadimagomaev was on the wrong end of a decision.

A.J. McKee: A.J. McKee picked up the second loss of his MMA career on Saturday when Paul Hughes defeated him via split decision. McKee struggled with the pressure Hughes put on him throughout the three-round battle. McKee did not do well when Hughes forced him to his back foot, and his wrestling was largely ineffective against the younger and less experienced fighter.

McKee’s previous loss was to Patrício Pitbull in a rematch for the Bellator featherweight title in 2022. With his loss on Saturday, McKee’s winning streak of four straight ended.

Marcos Breno: Marcos Breno had a fantastic first four minutes of his fight against Raufeon Stots. He was very effective with his striking, throwing everything with power and seeming to catch Stots several times. He was outstanding in landing to the body. However, Breno could not keep Stots on his heels, and once Stots established his wrestling game, Breno struggled, evenbtually getting submitted in the third round.

Dedrek Sanders: Dedrek Sanders had no answer for the wrestling and ground control of Makkasharip Zaynukov. When he did attempt to implement his striking, he was reaching in too much and putting himself off balance.

Nacho Campos: Nacho Campos had no answer for the wrestling and ground control of Ibragim Ibragimov.

Tariq Ismail: Tariq Ismail looked good in the early going against Taha Bendaoud, but he might have allowed his confidence to get the best of him.

Ismail’s takedowns, ground control, and ground striking seemed to have him on the way to a victory, but he left himself open for a triangle choke against the fence, and when Bendaoud found that opening, he finished the fight.

PFL Battle of the Giants Fight Card

PFL Battle of the Giants PPV Card

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco

Johnny Eblen defeats Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47 x 3)

Zafar Mohsen defeats Husein Kadimagomaev via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Paul Hughes vs A. J. McKee via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Prelims

Raufeon Stots defeats Marcos Breno via submission at 3:01 of Round 3 (Rear-naked choke)

Makkasharip Zaynukov defeats Dedrek Sanders via unanimous decision (30-26)

Ibragim Ibragimov defeats Nacho Campos via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Taha Bendaoud defeats Tariq Ismail via submission at 3:51 of Round 2 (Triangle choke)

Video Highlights

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