In less than four minutes, Francis Ngannou eliminated Renan Ferreira, bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) back to an emotional place.
After his most recent title defence against Ciryl Gane, the former UFC heavyweight champion returned to the cage for the first time in more than two years.
A brief boxing career had been pursued by Francis Ngannou in the interim; he had lost to Tyson Fury on points but was brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua in the second round.
Ngannou had lost to Joshua after his first encounter with Ferreira.
He kept his promise and came back to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) to face the fierce Brazilian champion, even after losing his one-year-old kid to tragic circumstances earlier in the year.
Ferreira, who won the PFL heavyweight championship the previous year, had already defeated Ryan Bader in 2024 to set up the much awaited matchup with Ngannou.
Following a wary first minute, Ngannou suddenly brought the fight to the canvas, completing a takedown and then finishing the bout with a furious onslaught of ground and pound strikes.
Fighting through tears, Ngannou dedicated the victory to his late son: “I can’t think of anything but my son, Kobe. I only took this fight because of him,” he said, visibly emotional.
“I fought for him. I hope people remember his name, because without Kobe, I wouldn’t be here tonight. I wouldn’t have fought.”
In the co-main event, featherweight Cris Cyborg defeated fellow Brazilian Larissa Pacheco via majority decision to become the PFL’s inaugural Superfight champion.
After five intense rounds, Cyborg—who also owns the Bellator featherweight title—overcame the two-weight PFL champion, earning a 49-46 decision on the scorecards of all three judges.
