MMA: Francis Ngannou gets October date for PFL return in Saudi Arabia

Francis Ngannou will face Renan Ferreira on his return to MMA on 19 October.

The Cameroon heavyweight will make his promotional debut for the Professional Fighters League (PFL) having previously been a champion in the UFC.

On the undercard, long-time Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will face PFL two-weight champion Larissa Pacheco.

Winners of both contests will receive the PFL’s newly established “super-fights championship belt”.

Ngannou, 37, has spent the past year concentrating on boxing, with fights against former world champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou lost both bouts, suffering a second-round knockout to Joshua in March after a split-decision points loss to Fury.

Brazil’s Ferreira won the PFL’s 2023 heavyweight tournament and had been touted as Ngannou’s opponent since beating Bellator’s heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in February.

Ferreira, 34, has 13 wins, three losses and three no-contests on his MMA record.

Eleven of his 13 wins have come via knockout.

Ngannou has 17 victories in 20 MMA fights and his last win was a points decision over Frenchman Ciryl Gane in the UFC in January 2022.

He left the UFC ranks at the end of his contract in 2023, citing a desire to switch to boxing.

Ngannou signed with the PFL last year and was named as the chairman of the PFL’s upcoming African league, which launches in 2025.

The PFL uses a league format in the United States, with female British flyweight Dakota Ditcheva reaching the final of the 2024 flyweight tournament.

Ngannou’s fight against Ferreira will be a one-off, with the Brazilian deciding against entering the 2024 heavyweight tournament as he waited for a bout with Ngannou.