Heavyweight Francis Ngannou knocks out Renan Ferreira in mixed martial arts return
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Francis Ngannou (left) landed a series of bludgeoning punches to end the fight with 88 seconds left in the first round.
PHOTO: AFP
RIYADH – Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou made a triumphant return to mixed martial arts by knocking out Renan Ferreira in the first round of their heavyweight clash at the Professional Fighters League (PFL) event dubbed Battle Of The Giants in the early hours of Oct 20.
After some early heavy kicks from both fighters, Ngannou, who had not fought in mixed martial arts since January 2022, took the fight to the mat and eventually got behind his Brazilian opponent, landing a series of bludgeoning punches to end the fight with 88 seconds left in the first round.
A tearful Ngannou then dedicated his victory to the memory of his 15-month-old son Kobe, whose death was announced in April.
“I only did this fight because of him. I wanted to fight for him... I hope they can remember his name, because without Kobe, we wouldn’t be here tonight,” he said in a post-fight interview in the cage.
The event broke with the PFL’s usual format of a regular season and play-offs to put on a series of “super fights” with belts at stake, as Ngannou made his return to the sport where he made his name after a foray into the world of boxing.
His rise from childhood poverty in Cameroon to the pinnacle of mixed martial arts, where he won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title in March 2021, made him a hugely popular figure and one of the most sought-after free agents in combat sports when his UFC contract expired.
He went on to take part in lucrative boxing matches against heavyweights Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, both of which he lost, and his signing was a huge coup for the PFL in its battle to compete with the UFC.
In the evening’s co-main event for the PFL Super Fights women’s featherweight belt, Brazilians Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco battled over five rounds, with the vastly experienced Cyborg emerging victorious via unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, middleweight Anthony Hernandez took away Michel Pereira’s potent striking attack to pick up his sixth straight victory with a fifth-round TKO in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Oct 19 in Las Vegas.
The American pushed the pace in the one-sided bout, tiring out Pereira by the midway point of the third round. The Brazilian failed to counter Hernandez’s dominant wrestling base. Despite securing only one takedown in the opening round, it was all he needed to get going.
Hernandez (13-2-0) said he does not care who he fights next, but wants a future title shot.
“I don’t even follow the roster,” he said.
It was his first UFC main event since joining the roster in 2019, improving to 7-2 under the promotional banner.
Pereira, who had won his previous eight matches, suffered his first loss since February 2020. REUTERS
