Ngannou took on 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Ferreira in the main event at Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and, after taking the Brazilian to the mat, knocked him out with a vicious barrage of punches to claim the stoppage victory mid-way through the opening round of their championship bout.
The bout was a hugely emotional one for Ngannou, who suffered a huge knockout loss to Anthony Joshua, then tragically lost his 15-month-old son, Kobe, weeks later.
Ngannou, with a heavy heart, considered retirement, but ultimately decided to fight on in his son’s memory, and signed to make his PFL debut against Ferreira in Riyadh for the inaugural heavyweight superfights title.
And, after he claimed his emphatic first-round knockout victory, the emotions poured out of not just Ngannou, but also his coaches Eric Nicksick and Dewey Cooper, as the pent-up emotions were finally released inside the SmartCage.
After his victory, Ngannou admitted he wasn’t 100 percent sure what his fighting future holds, but he hinted that his journey wasn’t over just yet.
The big problem lies with the PFL, who somehow have to find a suitable opponent for Ngannou after he crushed the promotion’s 2023 heavyweight world champion with apparent ease.
Cyborg edges Pacheco in five-round war
Cris Cyborg completed a little piece of MMA history as she defeated two-division PFL champion Larissa Pacheco to capture the inaugural PFL women’s featherweight superfight championship.
In a fight that saw each woman push the other to the limit over five hard-fought rounds, it was Cyborg who held the upper hand through four of the five rounds to earn scores of 49-46 on all three of the judges’ scorecards.
It meant that Cyborg wrote another line into the history books by extending her record of capturing titles in every major fight organisation she’s fought for, with her PFL superfights title set to join the Bellator, UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce titles in her loaded trophy cabinet.
Eblen outpoints Edwards in title rematch
The Bellator middleweight title was on the line as reigning champ Johnny Eblen faced familiar foe Fabian Edwards for a second time, and while he wasn’t able to repeat the feat of finishing the Englishman as he did in their first meeting, he did managed to pick up the win on the scorecards after five competitive rounds.
Eblen used his wrestling well to open up an early lead on the scorecards as he kept Edwards on the defensive for much of the opening two rounds. But Edwards started to find some success with his strikes in the third.
After Eblen appeared to right the ship in the fourth, Edwards poured on the pressure in the final round. But it was too little, too late for the Birmingham man, who lost an agonising decision on the scorecards, with all three judges scoring it 48-47 to Eblen, who retained his 185-pound title.
Hughes makes big statement by defeating McKee
The main card kicked off with a huge matchup at 155 pounds, as former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee took on former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Paul Hughes in a lightweight bout.
The matchup was a chance to see whether Hughes belonged in PFL/Bellator’s top bracket at lightweight, and he proved that he deserved that billing with a superb display that saw him comfortably deal with McKee’s grappling attack, and come close to knocking out the former Bellator champ.
In the end, the bout went all the way to the judges’ scorecards, where a split decision verdict raised eyebrows, but awarded the fight to the clear victor, as Hughes took the victory with scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
After his victory, Hughes revealed that his preparation hadn’t been the best heading into the matchup and he was gassed out after the opening round after nearly knocking out McKee in the closing seconds of the frame.
He then turned his attention to who he wants to fight next as he called for a shot at the Bellator lightweight title currently held by undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov, with Hughes saying he’d love to face the Russian either in Dubai, or on home soil in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Best of the rest
The main card also featured a featherweight contest between Switzerland’s Husein Kadimagomaev and Germany’s Zafar Mohsen, with the latter using his superior strength and ground game to claim a shutout win on the scorecards after three rounds.
And the featured preliminary card bout saw former interim Bellator bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots claim a third-round submission victory over Brazil’s Marcos Breno.
Breno started the fight well, but Stots grew into the contest and eventually found the opening to lock up a rear-naked choke to force the tap at the 3:01 mark of the final round.
PFL: Battle of the Giants – Official results
MAIN CARD
- Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira via knockout (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:32
- Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
- Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Zafar Mohsen def. Husein Kadimagomaev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Paul Hughes def. AJ McKee via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY
- Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:01
- Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Taha Bendaoud def. Youssef Al Housani via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:51
