OK, technically he’s actually entering new stomping grounds as he makes his long-awaited league debut at PFL: Ngannou vs. Ferreira a.k.a. “Battle of the Giants” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But he is returning to the ruleset under which he built his reputation as he competes in MMA for the first time since January 2022, and the first time since parting ways with the UFC the following year.
Ngannou is still the lineal heavyweight champion having never lost his belt inside the octagon, so the stakes are high as he takes on 2023 PFL tournament champion Renan Ferreira. A vintage performance by “The Predator” could inject new life into the league, while the slightest slip-up could invite a fresh wave of criticism for MMA’s self-proclaimed co-leader.
MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew, Damon Martin, and Alexander K. Lee got together to discuss the ramifications of the main event, plus Cris Cyborg making a return of her own against Larissa Pacheco, and else to watch for this Saturday.
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1. What does it mean for Francis Ngannou (and the PFL) if he loses?
Meshew: I’m honestly not sure. For either.
On the one hand, Francis losing in his first fight with the promotion is catastrophic for PFL. It mortgaged the farm to land Ngannou and thus far he’s spent all of his time boxing. If his first foray into the SmartCage is a loss? Well, that’s obviously less than ideal for Donn Davis and company. And for Ngannou, it would be his third loss in a row and probably the end of his days as a major draw, to the extent that is a thing.
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On the other hand, does it really matter for either of them? Ngannou is playing with house money given how much he’s made already from his boxing endeavors. And as for the PFL, it certainly isn’t promoting this like Ngannou losing would be a big deal.
For Ngannou’s debut, I anticipated a lot of the promotion would center around the best thing the company has going for it: this is the legitimate lineal heavyweight champion of the world, the baddest man on the planet. Not since the days of PRIDE has a non-UFC promotion been able to make that claim and instead PFL is going with a generic rebrand of Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua and “Knockout Chaos.” An Ngannou loss is less seismic for it promotionally, and maybe that’s the idea. Perhaps PFL doesn’t trust a 38-year-old fighter who hasn’t competed in the sport in nearly three years and is coming off a brutal knockout loss.
And honestly, I don’t blame them.
Martin: Potentially the end?
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Not to seem overdramatic but that’s at least a somewhat realistic possibility for Ngannou if he gets nuked by Renan Ferreira, who is a solid prospect but nowhere near the caliber of opponent “The Predator” has faced and defeated in the past. At 38, Ngannou still has plenty of tread left on the tires for a heavyweight because fighters in that division don’t seem to peak until their mid-30s, but it’s impossible to ignore that he just scored back-to-back paydays in boxing and a devastating loss would effectively put him in limbo without a lot of great options awaiting him in the future. For all the fighters the PFL has helped make millionaires over the past few years, not many have become household names and even fewer have broken through the stranglehold that the UFC maintains over the top 15 rankings.
Sure, Ngannou could lose and then bounce back against the Valentin Moldavskys and Tim Johnsons of the world—both of whom fight in the PFL—but is that going to justify the massive investment the PFL made to sign him away from the UFC? A better question might be are people going to be willing to put down $50 to watch any of those fights?
Does the PFL just crash and burn if Ngannou loses? Of course not. But Ngannou falling in his debut would definitely hurt. It’s tough enough that PFL signed him all the way back in May 2023 and he’s just now making his debut a year and a half later, but watching him lose in his first fight with the promotion would be a brutal blow after stealing him away from the UFC while he was still holding the heavyweight title.
Lee: Ngannou has to win.
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I’ll say it again: Ngannou has to win.
A Ferreira win won’t be the death knell for PFL as they’re solid on the business side of things, but in the court of public opinion, they’re cooked for at least a couple of years if Ngannou doesn’t deliver. So much had been made about acquiring Ngannou when he was the hottest free agent in MMA history, the true heavyweight champion, and a potential crossover boxing star, that a failure to deliver on all of that promise will be disastrous. After such a long layoff from cagefighting, this is a star waiting to be reignited, and to PFL’s credit, they’re giving him the platform to shine.
It’s a nice fantasy to think that Ferreira would get enough of a rub from beating Ngannou that he could become one of the faces of the league, but let’s be serious, this is MMA where fans think everyone sucks. The trolling of Ngannou will be a hundred times the praise for Ferreira. It’s not fair, but it is combat sports.
The PFL needs this, not because I believe Ngannou alone can take them to another level of notoriety, but because without him validating a historic signing, it could drop down several levels in terms of credibility.
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Ngannou. Has. To. Win.
2. Who wins Cyborg vs. Pacheco and where does the winner go from there?
Lee: Cyborg rides again.
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Call me a sucker or maybe I’m making up for a long stretch of fandom where I wasn’t the all-time great’s biggest supporter, but I’m not convinced that Cyborg is done just yet. Respectfully, she’s never fought the best competition, so nitpicking her recent results is in act of futility as, with rare exception, she’s done what she’s always done: Beat the brakes off of whoever they put in front of her.
I’m a huge advocate for Pacheco, especially given that she’s overcome a ton of adversity as a fighter, first being thrown to the wolves in the UFC when she was nowhere near ready and then twice being denied seven-figure paydays by the existence of Kayla Harrison. Guess what? Pacheco overcame that and she’s now clearly one of the best women fighters in the world, regardless of division. She’s not done yet either.
When it comes to this head-to-head meeting though, give me the legend still near the peak of her powers, who I actually expect to benefit from her boxing sojourns. Like with Harrison, I could see Pacheco winning a rematch down the road should she get the opportunity, but on Saturday it will be a triumphant return for Cyborg as she sets herself up to retire on her own terms sometime in the next couple of years.
Meshew: I’m going with Larissa Pacheco because she’s extremely good at fighting and also not old as dirt.
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Cyborg is 39 and has been fighting for nearly 20 years. That’s a lot of miles on the odometer and it’s clearly caught up with her. The only reason Cyborg hasn’t looked worse as of late is because women’s featherweight is a disaster of a division and she’s fought a motley crew of undersized and overmatched opposition. Bellator had so few people to feed to Cyborg they ran back an Arlene Blencowe rematch 18 months later! I’m honestly shocked Cyborg didn’t retire years ago, but now Pacheco might beat it into her.
As for where she goes, honest to Optimus Prime I have no idea. Women’s featherweight is simply not a real weight class. There are only a handful of fighters that even compete in it and she’s beaten most of them already! I guess Pacheco can just do the Cyborg thing and hang around and dominate for years on end against whatever opposition PFL can drag up, because aside from that, I truly have no clue what you do with her after she beats Cyborg.
Martin: I’ll stick with the hot hand here and pick Larissa Pacheco to win as well.
Considering the amount of experience that Pacheco has racked up since debuting in the UFC back in 2014, she’s still only 30 years old and seemingly in her prime right now. Cutting down to bantamweight never worked out well for her, but Pacheco really hit her stride when she found out what she could do competing at both 145 and 155 pounds. She hasn’t lost in nearly five years and yes, as the PFL will gladly remind you, she holds the only win over Kayla Harrison (Pacheco also lost to her twice in the past as well, but went to a decision booth times).
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Meanwhile, Cyborg is 39 and you could argue her last truly meaningful win came back in 2019 when she beat Felicia Spencer in the UFC. Yes, Cyborg beat a veteran in Cat Zingano in her most recent MMA fight in October 2023, but Zingano isn’t a featherweight and at 42, she’s not exactly young in the game either. Add to that, Cyborg has spent a lot of time lately training to win lopsided boxing matches and it feels like she’s ready sing her swan song sooner than later.
So what happens to Pacheco? Well, she becomes the new Cris Cyborg — an imposing brute of a fighter competing in a weight class that doesn’t really exist and the PFL can only hope that Harrison goes onto win UFC gold so that serves as more promotional fodder for them.
3. What fight outside of the top 2 has you most intrigued?
Yes, it’s A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes for any number of reasons, but perhaps at the top of the list is these are two fighters PFL can really push for the future. At his peak, McKee was viewed as one of the top two or three featherweights on the planet and he’s making a pretty good name for himself at lightweight now. Hughes is a top prospect from Ireland who passed on a UFC offer to instead sign with the PFL.
An argument could be made that this might be too much, too soon for Hughes in only his second fight for the promotion but he’s promised he’s ready for the step up in competition. Also at this point, we should all know that McKee is the real deal.
And the reward for the winner? A showdown against Usman Nurmagomedov — an undefeated Russian mauler who might actually be the second best lightweight in the world behind his teammate and friend, Islam Makhachev.
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Lee: I won’t stand for this Johnny Eblen disrespect.
It wasn’t long ago that Bellator’s middleweight king was considered by our rankings panel to be close to a spot on the pound-for-pound list, which is no small feat when you’re competing outside of UFC. One less-than-flattering split nod over Impa Kasanganay and now everyone is abandoning ship? For shame.
Eblen certainly isn’t known for being an all-action brawler, but the man just knows how to win and he’ll probably do so again in his rematch with Fabian Edwards. He finished Edwards in the third round last time and if he can top that performance, it could remind fans why his name is frequently mentioned among the best of the best.
And maybe it even greases the wheels towards an eventual UFC move, which would really get folks talking.
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Meshew: Is this a trick question? It’s obviously A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes. Anyone who says anything different is a liar.
McKee was an elite featherweight, but might actually be one of the very best lightweights in the world. The kid is all gas, no brakes. Honestly, I want him in the UFC already to start mixing it up with all the great fighters there.
On the other side of things, Paul Hughes is an elite prospect. I was a bit surprised when he didn’t sign with the UFC, but I don’t blame him for that. He’s going to build his brand massively over in PFL and then come to the UFC in a few years time like Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler did.
This fight is the best fight of the entire weekend and I couldn’t be more excited for it.
Charles Oliveira hopes that UFC matchmakers change their approach when it comes to booking Tony Ferguson fights if the veteran decides to enter the octagon in the future.
Oliveira, who handled Ferguson the second loss of his current eight-fight skid back in 2020, and has a good relationship with “El Cucuy”, said in an interview with MMA Fighting that it was hard to watch Ferguson suffer another setback this past August in Abu Dhabi, a first-round submission defeat to Michael Chiesa.
Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion, appeared to indicate his retirement immediately after the bout, but changed the tone at the post-fight press conference, saying “no, I still wanna fight.”
“He deserves all the respect in the world just to be fighting still, he deserves a standing ovation for everything he’s done in the UFC,” Oliveira said. “But I think the UFC should also give him some help and put him against someone [around his age] so they can put on a show and we applaud them.”
The last time Ferguson fought someone who was older than him was June of 2019, when he scored a win over Donald Cerrone. For Oliveira, who earned a shot at the UFC belt with his victory over Ferguson, the UFC should book “El Cucuy” against veterans on the tail end of their career instead of up and comers like Pimblett.
“The guy doesn’t want to retire, he’s there, so why not get someone with the same vibe to put on a big fight? That would be great,” Oliveira said. “But to put these young kids, kids coming in hungry for attention over a big name like him, that’s a bit complicated. It sucks. The guy has a certain age, and you put him against young kids to fight him? That hurts him a little bit.”
Bristol City head coach Liam Manning will take a period of absence following the death of his baby son Theo.
The Championship club said assistant boss, Chris Hogg, would take charge while 38-year-old Manning was away.
“Everyone at Bristol City Football Club is deeply saddened by the passing of Liam’s recently born son Theo John Manning,” a club statement said.
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“We know that Bristol City’s supporters and the wider football family will share their condolences and deepest sympathy with Liam, his wife Fran and his son Isaac during this difficult period.
“We ask that the privacy of Liam and his family is respected during this time.”
It’s the first time that McDaniel has explicitly stated there’s an expectation for Tagovailoa to play again this season after he suffered a concussion in Week 2. However, McDaniel wouldn’t divulge when the team is expecting Tagovailoa’s return, adding that he’s “not playing this week” against Indianapolis (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
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“There’s still information that he’s seeking this week and as far as timelines go,” McDaniel said. “I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before we can even entertain anything.
“We’ll make sure that he’s diligent this week and assess after that.”
Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve shortly after suffering a concussion in Week 2 in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. The move immediately ruled him out for Miami’s next four games, so he isn’t eligible to return to practice after Week 7. The next game he can play in, if he’s activated, is the Dolphins’ Week 8 tilt against the Arizona Cardinals.
The concussion marked Tagovailoa’s third since the 2022 season. He initially had a fencing response after his helmet collided with Bills safety Damar Hamlin on a run in that game, sparking similar concerns to the concussions he suffered in 2022. He was able to walk off the field on his own power after the collision. Tagovailoa was expected to meet with multiple independent neurologists following the injury, McDaniel shared at the time.
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The Dolphins’ offense has suffered without Tagovailoa. They lost three games in a row before beating the New England Patriots in Week 5, 15-10, to improve to 2-3 ahead of their bye week. Miami ranks last in scoring (12 points per game).
Tagovailoa has statistically been among the league’s best QBs since he started playing under McDaniel in 2022. He threw for 4,624 yards, 29 TDs and 14 interceptions in 2023, helping Miami reach the playoffs in each of the past two years.
Reinier de Ridder is ready for a fresh start after leaving his former home at ONE Championship and inking a deal to join the UFC roster.
There’s no secret that things gotten contentious between the Singapore based promotion and several fighters over the past couple of years but de Ridder isn’t trying to bash his former employers now that he has a new home. Like any job, de Ridder says there was good and bad about his years spent in ONE Championship but he definitely knew it was time for a change.
“It’s been good for a long time and it’s been bad for a pretty long time now as well,” de Ridder told MMA Fighting. “I think they’re struggling in a sense and some stuff is not being handled the way it should be but it is what it is.
“I had a very good run in the beginning. They gave me a lot of fights. In ONE, I was able to make it a full time thing with fighting. So I’m very grateful for that part. But the last couple of years weren’t that great.”
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After fighting three times in 2022, de Ridder’s activity dwindled without a single fight in 2023 and then only competing once in 2024 before ultimately leaving the promotion. He did make an appearance in 2023 for a grappling match under the ONE umbrella but his activity was obviously far greater earlier in his career.
When his contract ended, de Ridder fought once for UAE Warriors before signing his deal to join the UFC roster. He never knew for certain if he was going to fight for the UFC but de Ridder admits every fighter dreams about that opportunity at one time or another.
“I’m looking forward to getting in there,” de Ridder said about his UFC debut. “Looking forward to getting some activity. I’m very happy, very psyched, it’s cool.
“It’s the league we all look up to. Every fighter wants to fight in the UFC. Every fan wants to watch UFC. It’s been asked a lot of times over the years so it’s very cool to finally be there. Of course, it was clear I wasn’t going to keep going with ONE. But there were different options. But when you start fighting, when you start this crazy career, everybody wants to fight in the UFC. I’m getting to the later stages of my career so this was the moment to either go get it or never do it again. I had to go to UFC.”
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Despite holding two titles simultaneously in ONE, de Ridder admits the announcement that he signed with UFC got him more attention than anything he experienced with his former promotion.
“That’s the crazy part,” de Ridder said. “I went through every stage of an MMA fighter’s career. I went from unranked to title challenger to two-division champion and it always got some traction. People liked it and respected it.
“But now I just started all over again. So I go fight unranked again [in UFC] and it’s a bigger deal than becoming a two-division champion. It’s funny.”
As far as the biggest differences between the two organizations, de Ridder pointed to a pair of changes that he’s actually excited about now that he’s with the UFC.
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“The UFC is the UFC of course, so it was always the goal,” de Ridder said. “Always in the back of my mind. There’s a lot of different perks over ONE. Next to that, the weight thing is a bit more clear, there’s drug testing. It’s just better.”
When it comes to weight classes, ONE actually instituted much different rules than those used by the UFC or other promotions in the United States. ONE has hydration testing in hopes of curbing extreme weight cuts and the divisions there were altered so every weight class is actually different than those in other promotions.
For instance, de Ridder previously reigned as champion at both middleweight and light heavyweight but in ONE middleweight is from 185 to 205 pounds while light heavyweight is 205 to 225 pounds. In organizations like the UFC, middleweight stops at 185 pounds before moving up to light heavyweight.
De Ridder says the early implementation of the hydration testing and the weight class changes were good at ONE but over time he feels the program just didn’t work.
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“The idea of the hydration test was amazing,” de Ridder said. “In the beginning, they had some secondary measures to be sure that you really were around that weight when you fought as well. But over the years, those were eroded a bit and the guys just kept getting bigger and I was the only dummy who still made the 93kgs (205 pounds) with breakfast and some water. Some stuff’s changed there on this point.
“Look I’m not looking forward to the weight cut and there is still a way to negate the weight cut. There is a way to stop all the fighters from cutting weight but the hydration test is not enough, as you’ve seen.”
When it comes to drug testing, ONE Championship actually stated as far back as 2019 that athletes were being tested but de Ridder says his bigger concerns came down to the out-of-competition testing required under the UFC’s anti-doping program.
“In this regard, the UFC is the place to go,” de Ridder said. “America is the place to be for fighting clean athletes. That’s just better.”
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Perhaps what he’s happiest about with his move is that the 34-year-old Dutch fighter is getting back to business sooner rather than later with his first fight in the UFC booked for Nov. 9 against Gerald Meerschaert.
He pays credit to his manager Ali Abdelaziz for wasting no time getting the deal done and helping him book a fight and de Ridder promises that he’s going to soak in every aspect of this opportunity.
“I’m very, very grateful for this,” de Ridder said. “Ali is working his magic.
“It’s pretty cool. This is something I put my mind to, to try and enjoy all this stuff as well. I’ve always been a bit of a hater with all the interviews and all the people coming up to me and asking me stuff. But I’m trying to bit more grateful about this stuff.”
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 7-13.
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PFL Super Fights, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saturday
Tariq Ismail def. Jalal Al Daaja at PFL MENA 1
UFC 308, Abu Dhabi, Oct. 26
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UFC Fight Night 245, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Nov. 2
Mar 18, 2023; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Jack Shore (red gloves) reacts after defeating Makwan Amirkhani (not pictured) during UFC 286 at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
UFC Fight Night 246, Las Vegas, Nov. 9
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 24: Neil Magny punches Michael Morales of Ecuador in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 24, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
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UFC 309, New York, Nov. 16
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 27: (L-R) David Onama of Uganda punches Jonathan Pearce in a featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on April 27, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC 310, Las Vegas, Dec. 7
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JULY 28: Belal Muhammad reacts after his victory against Leon Edwards of Jamaica at Co-op Live on July 28, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
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UFC Fight Night, Las Vegas, Jan. 11
Punahele Soriano
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