Francis Ngannou’s return to mixed martial arts is here.

After leaving the UFC, vacating the promotion’s heavyweight title, signing with the PFL, having two pro boxing matches against two of the biggest names in the sweet science, Ngannou faces knockout artist Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL’s Battle of the Giants on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

It’s no secret that Ngannou is dealing with a lot heading into this one, and while both fighters seemed respectful and Bull Durham-like in the build, things got heated up in the final faceoff — giving this fight an extra (and, frankly, well-needed) boost.

In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg battles Larissa Pacheco, while Johnny Eblen battles Fabian Edwards in a rematch. The other big main card highlight is a lightweight tilt between former Bellator champ A.J. McKee and Paul Hughes.

What: PFL Super Fights PPV: Battle of the Giants

Where: Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

When: Saturday, Oct. 19. The four-fight preliminary card begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the U.S. and internationally on DAZN, followed by a five-fight main card at 4 p.m. ET also on ESPN+ in the U.S. and internationally on DAZN.

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Francis Ngannou should win this fight, and I think he will, but there’s a reason a lot of people believe Renan Ferreira is a darling dog.

Momentum in combat sports is huge, and if we’re looking at this through a down-the-middle lens, Ferreira has it after obliterating Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader in seconds at PFL vs. Bellator. Ngannou has a lot of pressure heading into this fight, with the lineal heavyweight champ talk, the layoff, the two-fight trip into boxing, the PFL’s investment in him, not to mention what this fight means to him on a personal level.

Could the monster Ferreria find Ngannou’s chin with a big shot? Very, very possible. But when it comes to MMA, Ngannou is a sponge when it comes to game plans and execution. I actually see Ngannou getting a takedown or two in this fight, and eventually, landing some big shots on the floor in Round 2 to have a feel-good moment.

Question is: Does he return to the boxing ring after?

Pick: Francis Ngannou

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco

This is a tremendous matchup on paper, but the road to it has been a weird one, hasn’t it?

It doesn’t seem like the transition from Bellator to PFLator for Cyborg has been all that pleasant if you’ve been following her on social media since the merger. She’s also only had two fights in MMA since April 2022, including a rematch with Arlene Blencowe that nobody asked for, and a straight destruction of Cat Zingano. But for the first time since she faced Amanda Nunes, Cyborg finds herself in a fight that seems it could go either way.

Pacheco has been outstanding — winning 10 fights in a row, a couple of $1 million checks, and is the only fighter on the planet to beat Kayla Harrison. While that’s a spectacular win on her résumé, I still don’t truly know how good Pacheco is, and while Cyborg doesn’t have her fastball anymore, she’s still a pretty damn good fist-fighter.

I’m not confident, most notably because Cyborg doesn’t seem all that thrilled to be a part of this fight week through my curious lens, but since I view this as a 50-50 fight, I’m leaning towards experience and accomplishment. Cyborg by decision is the pick and, what I predict, will be the first of multiple fights between the two.

Pick: Cris Cyborg

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards

In my opinion, this is a pivotal moment for Johnny Eblen, and you can make a real case that he has the most to prove on this entire card.

I know, it’s weird to say that about a guy who is undefeated, but there was a moment or two not that long ago where a lot of pundits claimed Eblen was the best middleweight in the world. While Eblen did finish Edwards in their first meeting, he had to work a lot harder than most expected to do so. Many believed it was not his best night in the office, and then he had the fight with Impa Kasanganay, who gave Eblen a run for his money at PFL vs. Bellator.

Now, we’re running this one back, and frankly, this fight is happening for one reason — Eblen just has nobody else to dance with. Edwards is a fine fighter and has some good wins, but in most cases, he would’ve needed another win, probably two, after beating Aaron Jeffrey in a fight nobody will go back and re-watch.

To me, a win is not enough for Eblen. He needs to look like he’s in a showcase fight, and he has the opportunity to do exactly that. The pick is Eblen via third-round stoppage in a fight that isn’t as close as the original.

Pick: Johnny Eblen

A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes

Kudos to both of these guys for building interest for this fight from Jump Street. I can’t wait for it, honestly.

A.J. McKee has always been a damn good fighter, but now that he’s at lightweight, he’s also fun as hell, and that makes him even more dangerous. Hughes is a 27-year-old stud that has an extremely bright future. The scary thing about the longtime Cage Warriors star is that he’s nowhere near a finished product. He’s two to three years away from his athletic prime. Unfortunately, he’s facing a guy in McKee who is in that prime, and has been in there with way better competition.

I think this fight delivers the goods, and if Hughes wins, he can put himself in a position to be one of the top headlines of the weekend in MMA. The pick is to have our cake and eat it too — McKee wins a decision, and Hughes proves he belongs in defeat.

Pick: A.J. McKee

Other bouts:

Husein Kadimagomaev def. Zafar Mohsen

Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno

Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders

Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos

Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail

Ipswich Town defender Axel Tuanzebe came “very close” to losing his thumb in a freak accident that will sideline him for “months”, says manager Kieran McKenna.

The former Manchester United centre-back sustained a deep cut to his thumb while he was washing dishes at his home in early October.

The 26-year-old DR Congo international, who had started all six of Ipswich’s Premier League matches until the injury kept him out of a 4-1 defeat by West Ham on 5 October, had surgery on his hand last week.

“It’s a household accident – very, very unfortunate and very, very serious,” McKenna said.

“He was very close to losing his thumb. He’s had surgery to repair the tendons in the thumb that was damaged; I think the recovery is going pretty well, but it’s a long-term injury.

“As much as it sounds a pretty innocuous body part regards the game of football, it’s a pretty important body part in human anatomy. He needs to let it recover.”

The Tractor Boys are without a win in their first seven Premier League fixtures since earning promotion back to the top flight.

Everton, who are one point and one place above Ipswich in 16th, visit Portman Road on Saturday (15:00 BST).

DR Congo qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations this month despite Tuanzebe’s absence from their Group H double-header against Tanzania.

ARNE SLOT has opened up on the remarkable story of the time he played against Virgil van Dijk back in 2013.

Liverpool boss Slot incredibly lined up against his now-club captain during a Dutch league game some 11 years ago.

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Slot, 46, has impressed massively since taking over at Anfield this summer, with the Reds top of the table having conceded just two league goals in seven games.

No small part of his success is thanks to the imperious Van Dijk who has long been one of the best centre-halves in the Premier League – if not the world.

But Slot once faced off against Van Dijk when the Netherlands international was rising through the ranks in his home country.

The pair came face-to-face in 2013 during a match between Slot’s FC Zwolle and Van Dijk’s Groningen in the Eredivisie – a clash that ended with Groningen winning 1-0.

Discussing that day with Men in Blazers, Slot joked: “Virgil was lucky that I only came on 10 minutes before the end. That’s why he could keep a clean sheet.”

Slot – who was a midfielder during his playing days – hung up his boots at the end of that season, while Van Dijk was just starting out his career and was only 22 at the time.

Even with his wealth of experience under his belt, Slot couldn’t have predicted that a young Van Dijk would one day be one of the best centre-backs around.

He added: “Everybody thought that Virgil was a very talented and good centre-back, but it was a bit strange that no top clubs came in for him.

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“He had to go to Celtic first and then to the Premier League to become such a star player for Liverpool.

“If you would have asked me back then ‘would you expect him to be the new centre-back at Liverpool?’, I probably would have said no.

“If you would have asked him ‘did you expect to play against your new manager?’, he would probably have said no as well”.

Slot will be hoping his star defender is on top form when his side welcome Chelsea to Anfield on Sunday.

The league leaders will need to be on top form to stop Enzo Maresca‘s transformed Blues.

Only Manchester City have scored more goals than Chelsea in the league this season with the Stamford Bridge outfit bouncing back from a lacklustre campaign last term.

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Maverick Vinales did not shy away from the hand gesture he made at a motionless Marco Bezzecchi following the pair’s high-speed crash in the latter stages of Saturday’s sprint race at the Australian Grand Prix.

The factory Aprilia rider had qualified third on the grid for the Phillip Island race but was unable to maintain his position at the start, losing several places to eighth, a position he held for five laps.

Then, amidst crashes and overtaking, Vinales began to make his way up to sixth, behind VR46 Ducati rider Bezzecchi. But despite being the only frontrunner on the medium rear tyre, the Italian fought tooth and nail until the incident on lap 11, two laps from the end of the sprint.

Vinales overtook Bezzecchi approaching Doohan corner and pushed hard under braking, but the Italian lost his reference and didn’t brake where he was supposed to, slamming into the Aprilia from behind.

Both went into the gravel at high speed, fortunately, without serious consequences in terms of injuries, despite Bezzecchi lying still for a short while following the crash. Both riders were conscious after the incident, although Bezzecchi was taken away on a stretcher.

A statement from the Aprilia team said that Vinales was “transferred to the medical centre where he was examined following the contusion of his left elbow. No fractures were reported, but an additional ultrasound exam subsequently highlighted modest post-traumatic swelling. For this reason, the Spanish rider will undergo anti-inflammatory therapy.”

Vinales was confident of racing on Sunday when he spoke to the media. He also explained how events unfolded from his point of view.

“When I crashed I felt a cramp and then I couldn’t feel my hand,” revealed the Spanish rider. “That’s why I was a bit scared.”

Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Bezzecchi must have misunderstood the braking point. We spoke and he told me that he would come and talk to me afterwards. Let’s see what he says.”

Further conversation was not possible in the immediate aftermath of the race as Bezzecchi went to hospital in Melbourne for further checks. For this reason, Bezzecchi’s point of view and any possible sanction from race direction will also have to wait until Sunday.

Following the initial checks performed at the circuit’s medical centre, Bezzecchi is understood not to have any fractures.

After the crash, with Bezzecchi lying motionless on the ground, Vinales showed him the middle finger, which attracted some criticism.

“I get thrown off at 300 kilometres per hour – what am I going to do, give him a kiss?” was Vinales’ comment on the matter. “At home, I would have done something else.”

Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez said he regarded the crash as a racing incident.

“If you look at it, it looks like it’s Bezzecchi’s fault, but for me, it’s a racing incident.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“In 2017, I had exactly the same situation. I overtook using the slipstream, but then when I arrived at the braking point the wind pushed me out.

“You don’t want to go into the middle of the track because you know that with these bikes if you go in front of the guy you are overtaking, the slipstream sucks the second guy.

“So you never want to be in front because you know it’s a dangerous situation for you. But today the wind was pushing laterally and I think Vinales could not avoid that movement while Bezzecchi couldn’t avoid the sucking.

“But guys, we are riding at 320km/h, shaking, and it’s windy at the end of the straight. So for me it’s a racing incident.”

“It was a great bounce-back from last week’s result, some of the backs were on fire.

“Not much really changed from last week with the game plan but we were able to put our DNA on the park.

“We had some unlucky stuff happen last week, but this week it came our way, which was awesome.”

The Australian made his 50th appearance in a new look back row, which saw him and Tom Pearson joined by youngster Henry Pollock, making his first Premiership start.

“We have different strengths. We do complement each other. It was really exciting to see HP running around like a mad thing and TP is always a physical presence,” said Scott-Young.

“I love playing with them, it’s a great combination.”

Northampton expect a tougher challenge next week against a Bristol side at the top of the table ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.

“They do seem to be a bit of a bogey team for us especially playing down there at Ashton Gate,” he added.

“They’re pretty dynamic and a box of surprises as well. We’ll definitely need to play our best rugby to counteract them when they’re playing at home.”