Francis Ngannou delivered the goods on his highly-anticipated MMA return at PFL: ‘Battle of the Giants’ from inside The Mayadeen. ‘The Predator’ found his prey in PFL powerhouse Renan Ferreira, clobbering him in the very first frame. As such, Ngannou proved why he’s the best to do it and took back his heavyweight spot. However, the King and his crown would go hollow without his prince.
Francis Ngannou dropped a close decision boxing bout to ex-WBC lineal Tyson Fury and then lost one to Anthony Joshua. A month after which, he tragically lost his 15-month-old son, Kobe. While Ngannou flipped the script on the Brazilian Renan Ferreira, quite literally, this matchup once rarely came to be. He had often contemplated retiring without Kobe by his side. Hence, he had a message after the win:
I only think about my son, Kobe. I only took this fight because of him. I hope they can remember his name because without Kobe, we wouldn’t have been here tonight, I wouldn’t have fought, …It was tough, it has been tough. The training camp was tough, the past two days were tough. I was full of emotion and I couldn’t do anything without thinking about him — I just want to say, please remember my son Kobe. I dedicate this to him. This is for Kobe.
Francis Ngannou to Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoespn) for ‘Battle of the Giants’ (DAZN/ESPN+) pay-per-view post-fight cage interview
‘Problema’ seemingly had his fair share of challenges. Moments later, Ngannou went back to his dangerous heavy strikes and swings and a barrage of left hands that rattled Ferreira’s head off the canvas. But all Ngannou wants for now is to streamline his win and emotions to Kobe’s memory. Without the resolve to not quit in his name, this would not have happened.
FRANCIS! FRANCIS! FRANCIS!
ALL HEAVYWEIGHTS ARE ON NOTICE!#PFLSuperFights | #BraceForImpact pic.twitter.com/llttkZGxpr— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 19, 2024
Ngannou was non-committal about his next fight, with another piece of MMA hardware around his waist. For now, “The Predator” will savor the big win and return to his family. Under the guidance of Helios Sports & Entertainment Group, Ngannou will chair the PFL Africa Regional League next year. While he is solemn about it, Ngannou’s win has stirred up the MMA community.
MMA Pro Twitter reacts to Francis Ngannou’s PFL knockout of Rennan Ferreira
In Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena, Ngannou took size out of the equation. He went big, took Renan Ferreira down, and pummeled him with ground-and-pound for a first-round stoppage. Francis Ngannou thus returned to his former glory in quite a violent fashion at Saturday’s PFL: ‘Battle of the Giants.’
While his customary post-fight speech was rightfully emotional, the win sequence was just something else. Here are a few play-by-play reactions from combat sports peers to the “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) event headliner opposite Renan Ferreira.
Here we go! Ngannou vs. Ferreira starts now! 😅 pic.twitter.com/yyKvPObGK2
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 19, 2024
Big Fran still looks carved out of stone at 38. He knows where they keep the weights.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) October 19, 2024
Vsf Ngannou para de se amarrao #pfl
— Renato Moicano UFC (@moicanoufc) October 19, 2024
Big Fran dropping bombs
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 19, 2024
Francis Ngannou is still that dude.
— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) October 19, 2024
Holy fuckkkk. Francis just pummelled that man unconscious
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 19, 2024
Ngannou is a bad mtfka 🔥🔥
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) October 19, 2024
FRANCIS NURMAGAMEDOV!! 😳
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) October 19, 2024
Murderous GNP from Ngannou. God damn https://t.co/92cTcIv81A
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 19, 2024
That look on Renan’s face was like 😬 pic.twitter.com/8QmxNveERi
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) October 19, 2024
That is the most emotional reaction that I have seen from a collective team after a victory.
So much love for Francis from his team after a brilliant performance.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) October 19, 2024
This is a really late stoppage by Big Dan. Like dude… you’re right there, stop the damn fight already https://t.co/Qmd2CRqUGc
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) October 19, 2024
So happy for Francis
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) October 19, 2024
Nice finish! Congrats @FrancisNgannou 🫡 pic.twitter.com/vCdgWUCTMW
— Rampage Jackson (@Rampage4real) October 19, 2024
@francis_ngannou deserves it all. Scary man #pfl
— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) October 19, 2024
This angle of Ngannou’s TKO is insane pic.twitter.com/IOLxKGDmL6
— Ben Davis (@BenTheBaneDavis) October 19, 2024
Y’all must’ve forgot!
Francis Ngannou wins by 1st round KO! pic.twitter.com/N5ZbCCwc40
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 19, 2024
Francis Ngannou vs Jon Jones. That’s what I want. That’s what you want. Repost this now
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) October 19, 2024
This fight was a proper promise fulfilled to get back into the MMA fold; many peers have thus reacted as such. Ngannou’s dominance and ground-and-pound was one for ages. Hence, it has gotten reactions from top standouts like Justin Gathje, ex-UFC higher Quinton Jackson, and Belal Muhammad, amongst others.
‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor went on a tweet-and-delete spree about something lost to time. Meanwhile, Ariel Helwani live-streamed the simultaneous watch and PFL signing Jake Paul. Despite his animated reaction, Paul floated a particular idea yet again. As such, this win will remain the red hot topic for a while.
