PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was anything but fearless after finishing Renan Ferreira via TKO Saturday afternoon.
Coming off the death of his 15-month-old son, Ngannou opened up on what the last several months have been like while preparing for his MMA return. After the win, Ngannou said he came to a startling realization about his mindset, fighting future and trying to live through his son’s memory.
Ngannou had little to no issues defeating Ferreira. It was his first MMA fight since Jan. 2022 when he was the UFC heavyweight champion. The victory was Ngannou’s seventh in a row dating back to July 2018. Notable wins in that stretch include former heavyweight champions Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, along with Ciryl Gane and Curtis Blaydes. The victory against Gane was his last in the UFC, as the pair unified the belts in the midst of Ngannou’s contract dispute with the promotion.
Ngannou bet on himself while taking a dive into the boxing scene with bouts against former undisputed champion Tyson Fury and fellow British future Hall of Famer Anthony Joshua. Despite going 0-2, Ngannou took Fury the distance, including nearly pulling off the upset.
Whether Ngannou is the best heavyweight in the sport is up for debate. However, what is known is that heavyweight MMA is back to normalcy with Ngannou back in the fold. Who Ngannou fights next is unknown, but he enjoys the fruitful labor of getting recognized in the same conversation as Jon Jones, Miocic and Tom Aspinall as the four best in the division.
