In the two years and nine months since former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou last fought in an MMA cage, his opponent on Saturday, Renan Ferreira, is 5-1 with five knockouts, including four in the first round.
That's the foundation for excitement that PFL has built for the main event of the biggest and most important pay-per-view card in the promotion's history when Ngannou, still the lineal MMA heavyweight champion for those who enjoy such a thing, faces off against Ferreira (13-3, 3 NC) inside The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The card, which is technically titled "PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants," certainly lives up to its name.
Ferreria, a 34-year-old native of Brazil, is a 6-foot-8 freak athlete with finishing power in all four limbs and the calling card of a celebratory in-cage standing backflip after each big win. The 6-foot-4 Ngannou (17-3), meanwhile, a native of Cameroon, is among the most devastating punchers in combat sports history and is fresh off of a two-fight start to his professional boxing career that saw him fight former heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in succession.
For Ngannou, the biggest unknown entering this fight is what he will look like.
Not only has it been 33 months since "The Predator" last fought in MMA when he outpointed Cyril Gane at UFC 270 to unify the heavyweight title, he was viciously knocked out by Joshua just seven months ago in a boxing ring. It was the kind of brutal finish that could end certain fighter's careers. Ngannou is also still dealing with the grief from the tragic death of his 15-month son, Kobe, earlier this spring.
"I would definitely say Renan is at the top of the line," Ngannou said at Thursday's final press conference. "But my entire life, my biggest opponent has always been me. On Saturday night, I am going to get him, so he should be ready."
Despite Ngannou bringing a ton more big-fight experience into the matchup, all of those questions surrounding him have made handicapping Saturday's main event an uneasy challenge. Ferreira, who is currently a 2-to-1 underdog, seems to be coming into his own of late, which was evidence by the ease in which he finished Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in just 21 seconds in February's "PFL vs. Bellator" PPV card.
"Both Francis and I came from humble beginnings. We had an incredible career to reach where we are right now," Ferreira said. "It is a great honor to be fighting one of the strongest men in the world. We are both complete fighters. We can strike and grapple as well. I am ready to fight wherever the fight goes. The fans can expect a great fight."
It has been so long since Ngannou has competed in MMA that it's difficult to know what he has added to his game over the past few years. Some have pondered whether Ngannou will look to take Ferreira down, similar to how he once controlled Gane despite fighting through a serious knee injury.
"This is an MMA fight, so everything will be on display," Ngannou said. "We've prepared everything, and everything will be on display. On his end, too, I believe [Ferreira] is preparing some things because he is a jiu-jitsu black belt, and he is not undermining my punching power.
"Let's just say I am going to fight strategically and according to how the fight presents itself. In my career, I went for a knockout, but it didn't work out for me. The times when I did score a knockout, it wasn't something that I had planned. I know I have 25 minutes, so I am going to lay my game plan down in that 25 minutes and win the fight."
The undercard has a handful of interesting matchups worth paying attention to. The co-main event will draw plenty of eyes when Cris Cyborg takes on Larissa Pacheco for the PFL women's featherweight superfight title. Cyborg, 39, has won a major promotional title with every organization she has competed in. A win on Saturday would complete the journey for one of the best women to ever step inside the MMA world. Pacheco, meanwhile, has become a phenom in her quick rise. Her win over former PFL champion Kayla Harrison stands out as a breakthrough moment.
Plus, Johnny Eblen looks to defend his Bellator welterweight title against a familiar foe in Fabian Edwards after the two met in 2023 with Eblen scoring a third-round knockout. And former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee looks to continue his strong run at 155 pounds when he takes on rising contender Paul Hughes.
Let's take a closer look at the rest of the card for Saturday along with the latest odds before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event.
PFL Battle of the Giants fight card, odds
- Francis Ngannou -320 vs. Renan Ferreira +230, PFL heavyweight superfight title
- Larissa Pacheco -150 vs. Cris Cyborg +120, PFL women's featherweight superfight title
- Johnny Eblen (c) -400 vs. Fabian Edwards +275, Bellator welterweight title
- Husein Kadimagomaev -1000 vs. Zafar Mohsen +550, featherweights
- A.J. McKee -175 vs. Paul Hughes +135, lightweights
- Raufeon Stots -750 vs. Marcos Breno +460, bantamweights
- Makkasharip Zaynukov -450 vs. Dedrek Sanders +300, lightweights
- Ibragim Ibragimov -1200 vs. Macho Campos +600, featherweights
- Tariq Ismail vs. Taha Bendaoud, featherweights
Where to watch PFL Battle of the Giants
- Date: Oct. 19
- Location: The Mayadeen -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Start time: 4 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
Ngannou vs. Ferreira prediction
While it certainly wasn't in PFL's best interest for Ngannou to wait so long following his March 2023 signing to finally find his way into the SmartCage, the developments of the past year have conspired to make this a much more competitive fight -- at least on paper -- than it would have been 12 to 18 months ago.
Ferreira can finish this fight at any time and it's a potential scenario that becomes hyper sensitive when you consider the previously iron-chinned Ngannou was battered and knocked out cold by Joshua earlier this year. But Ngannou is not an average fighter and he's armed with an incredible life backstory that suggests he may not succumb to the type of setbacks that mere mortals around him often do.
If anyone can put the train back on the track after so much time away -- and so much physical and mental turmoil in between -- it's certainly Ngannou. Add in the fact that he's the better fighter, with better technique and the kind of frightening power which can make any single mistake a disastrous one, the idea of Ngannou winning by knockout is still both the best bet and the most likely outcome.
Ferreira is dangerous and fresh off the best work of his career. But he hasn't fought someone, outside of the aging Bader, even remotely on the same level as Ngannou and that should catch up with him inside the cage. It might get a bit hairy early as they feel each other out, but Ngannou won't be easy to get rid of.
Pick: Ngannou via KO2
