“The Predator” is back. For the first time in 33 months, Francis Ngannou will walk into an octagon.
The former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion returns to the fight on October 19 to face PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira for the PFL Super Fight title in Ngannou’s debut with the promotion.
Since defending his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022, Ngannou has endured more than two years of negotiations, triumphs and heartbreak.
After recovering from surgery in 2022 and waiting until his contract expired to become the most sought-after free agent in MMA history, he negotiated a deal with the PFL in the first half of 2023 that would allow him to compete as a boxer.
Francis Ngannou defeats Tyson Fury in their November 2023 fight. (Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
And then — after a world-class performance against lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and a loss to Anthony Joshua — Ngannou was struck by tragedy when his 15-month-old son passed away in April.
On Monday, Ngannou said The Athletics the loss left him with “a lot of uncertainty, a lot of insecurity,” and compared it to someone piercing his life with a needle.
With Wednesday’s announcement, the 37-year-old indicated he is looking forward to returning to the normality of his professional career.
And even after establishing himself as one of the most feared fighters in MMA history, he spoke like a fighter eager to prove himself.
“I have to prove that I can win this fight,” he said.
“The goal (of this sport) is to compete, to do your best every day. So yeah, I think I have something to prove, that I can still do my best.”
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As for what fight fans can expect nearly three years after his last MMA fight, Ngannou was straightforward: They’ve seen a lot.
“It’s exactly the same,” he said, adding later: “I think I’m doing everything I can to win the fight, knowing that I’ve left no stone unturned and that’s what I expect to bring.”
If he’s right, he could change the landscape of the industry. The PFL has long been seen as a second-tier, if not third-tier, promotion to the UFC. Ngannou debuting with the same one-punch power that turned the UFC’s heavyweight division on its head would give the PFL its defining moment.
Ferreira will be a formidable first opponent. The 6-foot-8, 34-year-old Brazilian is 13-3 and is coming off a 21-second TKO of Ryan Bader in February for the “PFL vs. Bellator Champion” Super Belt. Before that, Ferreira defeated Denis Goltsov to win the 2023 PFL Heavyweight Tournament.
In an MMA era where “superfights” and long-awaited returns see opponents turn down years of other opportunities, like Michael Chandler waiting for Conor McGregor in the UFC, this fight marks something different.
Ferreira took a calculated risk by skipping the 2024 PFL season while waiting for Ngannou’s return after getting the chance to fight Bader. He told MMA Fighting in March: “I am very happy with this opportunity and I hope it happens soon.”
Ngannou does not speak negatively about Ferreira’s patience and compares it to his own situation when he became a free agent.
“When you get that chance, you just take it,” Ngannou said The Athletics“Just like I pursued my own opportunity by leaving the UFC when I decided I needed to, I did what I had to do for my own opportunity.”
In the 15 months since signing with the PFL, Ngannou’s tactic of sitting out his contract hasn’t been duplicated by many. But he’s not losing hope of changing the industry and believes his risk in 2022 has raised MMA-wide awareness of how fighter contracts work.
He even said that some fighters have asked him for advice on how to negotiate future deals.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. Change doesn’t happen in a day or a year, maybe not in five years,” he said. “But you can be sure that many people today are taking steps and making decisions based on that example.”
He also doesn’t lose any sleep over the years he did miss.
“I didn’t miss anything. … My decision was based on what I wanted and what I think I should have done for myself, so I don’t regret it.”
“Look at me at the end of the day, I think everything went perfectly for me.”
Required reading
(Top photo courtesy of PFL)
