Francis Ngannou is once again ready to be an MMA fighter again.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will make his debut for the Professional Fighters League (PFL) on October 19 against Renan Ferreira after a two-year hiatus from the sport where he made his name.
Ngannou walked away from the UFC at his peak and is returning to mixed martial arts with the PFLCredit: Getty
Ngannou recently tried his hand at boxing, losing to Tyson Fury – knocking the former champion down – and Anthony Joshua in crossover clashes.
But now he is set to face Ferreira for the PFL heavyweight strap on a stacked card, co-headlined by a featherweight title clash between female MMA pioneer Cris Cyborg and two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco.
Ngannou’s opponent Ferreira stands at 6ft 8in tall and is the reigning PFL heavyweight champion.
He won the belt in February by knocking out two-weight Bellator titlist Ryan Bader to set up a fight with ‘The Predator’ and has a habit of ending his contests early.
Out of his 13 professional wins (13-3), 12 of them have finished inside the distance with 11 of them coming by way of knockout.
“Renan is a great fighter; I have been watching him for years,” said Ngannou.
“I have been studying him for years, in fact, I’ve been telling people to watch this guy.
“He’s quite unique, he’s athletic, fast, his size doesn’t impress me as much as his skill.”
Ngannou has not fought in MMA since defeating Cyril Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022 to defend his UFC heavyweight title.
Following the fight, he split with the UFC after failing to come to terms on a contract extension and subsequently signed with the PFL.
Ngannou was knocked out by Joshua in MarchCredit: Getty
He was supposed to compete for the organisation earlier but ended up landing a pair of blockbuster boxing bouts with British heavyweight stars Fury and Joshua.
Ngannou caused Fury serious problems in his boxing debut last October as he dropped a narrow split decision to the then-lineal heavyweight champion.
However, he couldn’t replicate his performance against AJ, who brutally knocked him out in March.
One month after his loss to Joshua, Ngannou announced the tragic death of his son, Kobe, at the age of just 15 months.
He announced the devastating news on social media via an emotional statement.
“Too soon to leave but yet he’s gone. My little boy, my mate, my partner Kobe was full of life and joy,” he wrote.
“Now, he’s laying without life. I shouted his name over and over but he’s not responding. I was my best self next to him and now I have no clue of who I am. Life is so unfair to hit us where it hurts the most.
“How do you deal with such a thing? How can you live with it? Please help me if you have an idea because I really don’t know what to do and how to deal with this.”
The PFL’s format is that of a sports season where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year.
Ngannou rose to prominence in MMA’s premier promotion, the UFC, winning on his 2015 debut with a one-punch knockout. He then won the heavyweight title in 2021 by beating Stipe Miocic.
Among other notable names in the PFL are Britain’s Dakota Ditcheva, who reached the 2024 women’s flyweight final, Brendan Loughnane and Impa Kasanganay.