Staredown! Ngannou, Ferreira get physical during final Saudi Arabia faceoff | PFL ‘Battle of the Giants’

Dan Hiergesell is an expert voice who serves as MMAmania.com's weekend editor, covering mixed martial arts (MMA) for more than 15 years, getting featured on programs such as Countdown to UFC and SiriusXM Fight Club, among others.

Two heavyweight monsters will collide tomorrow (Sat., Oct. 19, 2024) at PFL: Battle of the Giants live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou makes his return to MMA against PFL heavyweight king Renan Ferreira. They’ll fight it out for the inaugural PFL heavyweight superfight championship.

Ngannou will be fighting under MMA rules for the first time since his decision win over Ciryl Gane all the way back at UFC 270 in January 2022. “Predator” took a break from MMA following his breakup with UFC in early 2023 and competed in two super-lucrative boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Ngannou tasted defeat in both fights — including this soul-crushing KO loss — but it gave him a chance to bank generational money.

The former UFC king is now coming back to the cage and looking to overthrow one of the most physically-imposing heavyweights in the sport today. While Ferreira doesn’t compete under the UFC banner, his PFL track record speaks for itself. The Brazilian has posted a 7-1 record since his PFL debut in 2021 and is coming off a 21-second knockout finish over Ryan Bader this past February (his sixth knockout as a member of the promotion).

Before the two heavyweights collide atop a stacked PFL card from Saudi Arabia, they squared off one final time on Friday for the ceremonial weigh ins (watch HERE). While Ngannou and Ferreira don’t share a deep feud the two fighters did get a little physical during their faceoff and battled for head position.

Check it out in the above video player and an alternate angle below:

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BRACE FOR IMPACT! Former UFC Heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, makes his highly-anticipated return to mixed martial arts (MMA), facing the monstrous (6’8”) 2023 PFL Heavyweight champion, Renan “Problema” Ferreira, for the newly-minted PFL Super Fights Heavyweight championship belt on Sat., Oct. 19, 2024, from inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the “Battle of the Giants” co-main event, the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all-time, Cris Cyborg, squares off against PFL two-division champion, Larissa Pacheco. In addition, reigning Middleweight kingpin, Johnny Eblen, will run it back with Fabian Edwards, while former Bellator Featherweight roost-ruler, AJ McKee, welcomes surging Irish prospect, Paul Hughes, to the upper echelon of the talent-stacked Lightweight division. “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time is set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (stream it live in Europe and Canada on DAZN PPV). The “Prelims” portion will begin at 1:30 pm ET and will air on ESPN+ (as well as DAZN).

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