Francis Ngannou KO Renan Ferreira ⁰

Francis Ngannou made a dominant return to MMA as he brutally dismantled Renan Ferreira in his first fight inside the cage for two years. Against a backdrop of personal heartache following the passing of his infant son, Kobe, earlier this year, ‘The Predator’ delivered a devastating performance to reassert his claim as the most dominant heavyweight on the planet.

Ngannou departed the UFC in 2022, while still reigning as the promotion’s heavyweight champion. A dispute over contract terms led him to make an unexpected leap into the world of boxing – where he had a surprising amount of success.

Sharing the ring with Tyson Fury in October 2023, the Cameroonian equipped himself well, even knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ before dropping a close decision on the judges’ scorecards. His return to the squared circle against Joshua earlier this year, however, did not go to plan – as Ngannou was knocked out cold inside two rounds.

GIVEMESPORT’s Key Statistic: Francis Ngannou hasn’t lost an MMA fight since July 2018, when he was defeated by Derrick Lewis.

Back in the more familiar surroundings of the MMA cage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, though, Ngannou scooped the PFL Heavyweight Superfight Championship by pounding Ferreira unconscious in the first round. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion set the tone with an early takedown, secured dominant top position and then fought off Ferreira’s attempt at a triangle choke.

He was then free to unleash a furious barrage of strikes on his grounded opponent – and footage taken from cageside proves just how power Ngannou possesses.

Ngannou’s KO of Ferreira was Ruthless

From the camera stationed just inches from the action, every time Ngannou lands on Ferreira it sounds more like he is hitting him with a baseball bat than his fist. Unable to do much to avoid the onslaught, Ferreira was essentially only waiting for the referee to stop the action.

The official eventually acted, but not before Ferreira had taken more punishment than was necessary. By the time Ngannou threw his final punch, the Brazilian was already unconscious.

Ngannou would dedicate his victory to his late son Kobe, who sadly died in April at the age of only fifteen months. “Without Kobe, we wouldn’t be here tonight. I hope they can remember his name.” Ngannou said after his win.

Ferreira, to his credit, is a former PFL heavyweight tournament winner, and has a KO victory over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader on his resume. But he just couldn’t muster anything against Ngannou.

‘The Predator’ does not currently have his next fight lined up, but few PFL heavyweights will be lining up to face him after his dominant victory on Saturday night.

Culled from GIVEMESPORT