PFL Battle of the Giants. Photo via USA Today Sports
Former UFC heavyweight title holder Francis Ngannou returns to MMA this weekend for the first time in nearly three years. The PFL: Battle of the Giants event takes place Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and features no fewer than three title fights.
The former UFC heavyweight champ will square off with Renan Ferreira in the highly anticipated main event. The fight will mark Ngannou’s return to MMA after two massive boxing fights against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Ferreira won the PFL’s 2023 $1 million heavyweight season this past November. Eleven of his 13 wins have come via knockout.
Cris Cyborg returns to MMA
In the co-main event, former UFC/Bellator champ Cris Cyborg clashing with two-time PFL season winner Larissa Pacheco. The for women’s featherweight superfight title will be on the line.
Pacheco defeated Kayla Harrison to win the 2022 PFL women’s lightweight season and then won the featherweight season in 2023.
The PFL Battle of the Giants fight card also features a Bellator middleweight title bout between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards. The undefeated Eblen stopped just over a year ago via a third-round knockout.
PFL Battle of the Giants
The card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view and DAZN. The prelims starts at 1:30 p.m. ET. The main card starts at 4 p.m. ET.
Main card
Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira – for heavyweight superfight title
Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco – for women’s featherweight superfight title
Champ Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards – for Bellator middleweight title
Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes