Francis Ngannou marked his return to MMA in stunning fashion at the PFL Super Fights event last weekend.
‘The Predator’ became the inaugural PFL Super Fight heavyweight champion with a brutal first-round stoppage of Renan Ferreira at the Battle of the Giants event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou returned to winning ways after two years away from MMAGetty
The Cameroonian juggernaut hadn’t set foot inside the cage since defending the UFC heavyweight strap against Ciryl Gane in January 2022, but finished the fight against Ferreira with some vicious ground and pound to remind everyone why he’s one of the most feared fighters on the planet.
Ngannou’s friends and fellow fighters Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman watched the fight live and shared their reactions on social media.
Former UFC middleweight king Adesanya could be seen clapping his hands and yelling “Let’s go!” as Ngannou rained down blows on his opponent.
Usman was equally astonished with Ngannou’s KO, screaming at the top of his lungs before saying Ferreira “took one too many [punches].”
“Y’all must have forgot bro,” The Last Stylebender added, referencing Ngannou’s awesome power.
“Flawless, that was a beautiful performance,” the Nigerian-New Zealand superstar went on.
“He took one leg kick and dodged the flurry, timed his right hand and shot for a double, kept him there and knocked him out… I’m proud, inspired, and just happy to watch him do his thing.”
It was an emotionally charged occasion for the lineal heavyweight world champion, who has previously fought Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in lucrative heavyweight boxing fights.
Ngannou’s 15-month-old son Kobe passed away earlier this year and a teary-eyed Adesanya knew how much the victory meant to his fellow African.
“That was beautiful, ah I feel that man – that’s for Kobe,” Adesanya went on.
Adesanya screamed as Nagnnou delivered punch after punchX@HappyPunch
Usman was also in awe of his friend and fellow fighterX@HappyPunch
“He’s gone through so much in his career, even still after the whole boxing thing; people doubted him… People are prisoners of the moment, but they forget who this man is… I’m glad he reminded everybody why he’s the best, why he’s the one, why he’s Francis Ngannou.”
Ngannou was overcome by emotion on the night and dedicated the victory to his late son during his post-fight interview.
“The past two days were very tough, full of emotion, I couldn’t do anything without thinking about it [Kobe’s passing],” he said.
“I tried to stay strong and tell myself to do everything to keep moving but it’s hard. It’s just hard. 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, I wouldn’t have fought. Thank you everyone for coming.”
Asked what will come next for him, Ngannou replied: “My next move in combat sports all depends on how I feel and how I deal with my life right now.
“I have always thought I have a lot to give to combat sports and hopefully I keep thinking that way.”
