PFL Super Fight Card Will See Francis Ngannou Make Long-Awaited Debut
Francis Ngannou’s signing with the PFL in May 2023 felt like a coup for the organization. But the lineal UFC heavyweight champion didn’t head directly into a fight in the PFL cage. Instead, Ngannou decided to take on some of the top heavyweight boxers in the world.
Ngannou had mixed results during his first two professional boxing matches. He impressed in a split-decision loss to Tyson Fury. Then, many people who follow MMAfighting latest news will see that Ngannou’s second professional boxing match went as many people expected someone with so little experience to do against a professional contender.
Anthony Joshua battered Ngannou in a short fight last March in Saudi Arabia. Joshua dropped Ngannou three times, the last of which buckled his legs and sent him to the canvas in a vicious fashion. Ngannou will hope to avoid the same fight when he gets back into MMA.
Ngannou will headline the PFL Superfight pay-per-view on Oct. 19. He will take on Renan Ferreira, who won the 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament championship. Ferreira also won the PFL vs. Bellator championship by knocking out Bellator champion Ryan Bader.
Ferreira is a Relative Unknown
There are some people looking at the best MMA sites who may not know who Ferreira is. He cuts an imposing figure, the 34-year-old Brazilian stands at 6-foot-8. Ferreira is 13-3 during his career, including 11 wins by knockout.
Ferreira stumbled out of the gate, losing in the 2022 heavyweight tournament semifinal to Ante Delija. After a no contest, Ferreira has picked things up, winning four fights in a row by knockout. Ferreira will want to introduce himself to a larger audience by taking down Ngannou, who has fought in the cage since January 2022.
Cyborg Ready to Make Her PFL Debut
Cris Cyborg is one of the greatest female MMA fighters of all time. When MMA latest updates were released following the PFL’s acquisition of Bellator, it seemed natural that Cyborg would be paired with Kayla Harrison. However, Harrison decided to jump ship and sign with the UFC.
It seemed like another missed opportunity for Cyborg to build on her legacy. She was never able to secure a fight with Ronda Rousey and missing out on Harrison seemed like another tough blow. Cyborg did get an opportunity at super fight with Amanda Nunes and was stunningly knocked out in the first minute of the fight.
This was unfortunate for Cyborg, who is a former UFC and Bellator champion. Cyborg was hoping to land one or two more big-time fights before she retired. What the PFL has offered her instead is a bout with Larissa Pacheco.
This is a “legacy” tour for Cyborg, who has three more fights on her contract. She would like to leave the combat sports world with a bang.
Pacheco is No Slouch
Pacheco has carved out a nice name for herself in the PFL. She is a multi-division champion, winning the 2023 featherweight and 2022 lightweight tournaments. Pacheco’s victory in 2022 was shocking, as she became the first woman to defeat Harrison in the cage to win the championship.
Landing in the PFL gave Pacheco a second opportunity for a strong career. Initially, Pacheco landed in the UFC after starting her career 10-0 on the regional circuit. However, once Pacheco made it to the big show, she was finished twice by two future UFC champions, Jessica Andrade and Germaine de Randamie.
After losing to Harrison in the lightweight tournament final in 2019, Pacecho has become one of the PFL’s more consistent finishers. She has won 10 consecutive fights and will be a serious challenger for Cyborg.
Nineteen of Pacheco’s 23 career victories have come by finish. Pacecho has been dominating PFL-level competition for years. Now, Pacheco, 29, will have to take on an aging Cyborg, 39.
But Pacehco will know that Cyborg’s age shouldn’t have too big of an impact on the result of this fight. Cyborg still has a lot left to offer.
PFL Still Trying to Carve out Path Forward
The PFL took a long time to announce when Ngannou would make his debut. Now, the organization has to hope that his knockout loss to Joshua won’t have taken any shine off his star. Ngannou is known as one of the most ferocious punchers in the sport.
But will the PFL be able to find enough top-level heavyweights to compete with him? Ferreira earned his opportunity to fight Ngannou by winning his fight against Bellator champion Ryan Bader last winter at a PFL vs Bellator event. It was a neat concept, but it will be difficult to keep moving forward without confusing fans.
The PFL is still holding fights under the Bellator banner for now. Fighters are still defending Bellator belts. The PFL may want to keep having the winners of their annual tournaments fight Ngannou and other fighters with an elevated status.
No long-term plan has been made public yet, but the organization has a chance to create a project different from the UFC.
Free Agent Signings are Hard to Come By
The PFL has done a good job getting some fresh faces into the organization. Dakota Ditcheva has been a home-grown star who has carved out a name for herself among MMA fans. But online boxing news shows that hasn’t necessarily been the case with men’s fighters.
Josh Silveira avoided signing with Bellator and the UFC to join the PFL, but has yet to win a championship during his three seasons with the PFL. When Mohammad Mokaev had a falling out in the UFC, the PFL didn’t show interest in him because they didn’t have that weight class.
Ngannou is the engine that makes this organization run. If he can be successful on the MMA side of things, Ngannou should be able to energize young contenders to consider the PFL if they are at heavyweight.
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By Dean McHugh.
