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PFL results: Johnny Eblen fends off late comeback from Fabian Edwards to win unanimous decision

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Bellator champ Johnny Eblen rolling with the punches after his fight was moved for unknown reasons

Johnny Eblen probably didn’t have the performance he wanted but he’ll still leave Saudi Arabia as Bellator middleweight champion with a unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwards at PFL: Battle of the Giants.

A strong start with superior wrestling and grappling kept Eblen up early but Edwards managed a late comeback that nearly shifted the momentum to his favor. Unfortunately, Edwards just waited too long to get movie and Eblen had already racked up enough on the scorecards to hold onto the victory.

All three judges scored the fight 48-47 with Eblen remaining undefeated with the fourth defense of his middleweight title.

“I kind of faded a little bit,” Eblen said afterwards. “I’m pretty satisfied. I wish I could have ended it again. Fabian’s a top level guy. He’s one of the best in the world.”

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Eblen wasted no time setting the pace early as he established himself in the center of the cage and continuously found a home for a stiff right hand on Edwards’ chin. While Edwards kept attempting to set up a well-timed uppercut, Eblen avoided that punch before rushing forward and looking for the takedown.

Again and again, Eblen rag dolled Edwards around the cage as the British middleweight struggled to deal with the Bellator champion’s superior wrestling and grappling. As time passed, Eblen’s ability to drag Edwards to the canvas seemed to get easier, although he wasn’t able to produce much offense with the superior position.

Still, Eblen maintained control as he kept moving Edwards around the cage and then bringing him crashing back to the ground.

When the fight did stay on the feet, Edwards finally started to connect with a few shots but he just couldn’t keep Eblen from slipping inside and pressuring him back to the cage again. Because Edwards was so wary about getting taken down again, he was typically only throwing one strike at a time and that was much easier for Eblen to avoid.

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Even with Edwards in a defensive posture, Eblen still managed to find a way to consistently toss him back to the ground as time started running out on the two-time title challenger.

It wasn’t until the final frame when Edwards finally started throwing caution to the wind because he knew a finish was the only way he had a chance to win. Edwards stabbed at Eblen with a good lead jab and even threw a few slick inside elbows just trying anything to inflict some damage.

Edwards was also digging to the body with some nasty knees but he just ran out of time before he could produce a knockout to pull off the comeback win. While it certainly wasn’t the last round that Eblen wanted, he still survived the late onslaught to get the decision and retain his title.

Now 16-0 in his career, Eblen’s biggest problem moving forward might be finding worthwhile competition to keep him interested now that he already has a pair of wins over Edwards.

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Football

Match of the Day analysis: Alan Shearer on William Saliba’s red card against Bournemouth

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October 20, 2024

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Match of the Day analysis: Alan Shearer on William Saliba's red card against Bournemouth


Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer says Arsenal’s disciplinary record “has to change” after William Saliba earned Arsenal’s third red card of the season in their 2-0 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League at the Vitality Stadium.

READ MORE: Do Arsenal have a red card problem – and could it cost them the title?

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MMA

Conor McGregor bets big money on Francis Ngannou to lose at PFL Battle of the Giants

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October 20, 2024

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Conor McGregor bets big money on Francis Ngannou to lose at PFL Battle of the Giants

Conor McGregor has 500,000 reasons to pick against Francis Ngannou.

“The Notorious” boasted on social media that he has placed half-a-million on Renan Ferreira to to defeat Ngannou by knockout in Saturday’s PFL Battle of the Giants main event. The bout marks Ngannou’s first MMA fight since a successful defense of the heavyweight title at UFC 270 in January 2022.

Ngannou has never been finished by strikes under MMA rules, but he was knocked out in brutal fashion by Anthony Joshua in a boxing match this past March. The loss dropped Ngannou to 0-2 as a boxer, with one of those setbacks being a narrow split call against Tyson Fury.

According to McGregor’s post, should Ferreira beat the odds, the bet will pay out $1,675,000. Ferreira has scored 11 of his 13 pro victories by KO/TKO, including a recent win over Ryan Bader and three wins in 2023 that earned him a PFL heavyweight tournament crown and a $1 million prize.

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McGregor has made a habit of sharing large wagers in partnership with betting website Duelbits. This past July, the UFC star cashed in on another $500,000 wager when he successfully predicted that old foe Nate Diaz would defeat Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match.

Updated: After the loss, McGregor tweeted – then deleted – the following.

THE RICH GET RICHER ILL GET THAT BACK.

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MMA

Francis Ngannou wins at PFL; social media has plenty to say

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35 mins ago

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October 20, 2024

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Francis Ngannou wins at PFL; social media has plenty to say
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Francis Ngannou demolishes Renan Ferreira with vicious ground and pound knockout in first round

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October 20, 2024

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Francis Ngannou demolishes Renan Ferreira with vicious ground and pound knockout in first round

Francis Ngannou is back in a big way.

The former UFC heavyweight champion returned to MMA action for the first time in over two years and needed less than four minutes to dispatch Renan Ferreira in devastating fashion to cap off PFL: Battle of the Giants.

While he’s so well known for his fight finishing power on the feet, Ngannou actually delivered a single takedown to start the fight and he never let Ferreira back up again. Once Ferreira got stuck in a bad spot on the canvas, Ngannou unleashed some truly vicious ground and pound that just started hammering away at the PFL heavyweight champion.

With each punch, Ferreira’s defense crumbled and Ngannou wasn’t slowing down until the fight was stopped. Referee Dan Miragliotta mercifully stepped in to rescue Ferreira at 3:32 in the first round as Ngannou secures his first win under the PFL banner.

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Following the win, Ngannou was emotional as he dedicated the performance to his son Kobe, who passed away earlier this year at just 15 months old.

“I can’t just think about anything than my son Kobe,” Ngannou said. “I only take this fight for him. I hope they can remember his name because without Kobe, I wouldn’t be here tonight.

“It’s been tough. Not only the training camp was tough but the last two days was tough, full of emotion. I couldn’t do anything without thinking about it. It’s hard. This is for Kobe.”

The emotional turmoil seemingly fueled Ngannou to one of his most dominant victories as he displayed his full range of weapons to beat Ferreira on Saturday.

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Some heavy leather thrown to start the fight led to the takedown from Ngannou as he planted the giant Brazilian on the canvas. While Ngannou looked to inflict damage from the top, Ferreira managed to toss up a triangle choke attempt from the bottom.

Ngannou resisted the submission before breaking free as Ferreira desperately tried to scramble free but soon he was eating punches from the terrifying heavyweight on top of him. With Ferreira basically just covering up and not offering much resistance, Ngannou just began unloading shots in succession.

Ferreira appeared severely dazed before just falling flat on his stomach as Ngannou kept throwing bombs until the referee finally stopped the onslaught. Following the win, Ngannou remained down on the canvas for several moments as he embraced his coaches and let the wave of emotion finally wash over him.

The win moves Ngannou to 1-0 in the PFL after the promotion made a huge investment in him as a free agent following the end of his UFC career. As far as what comes next, Ngannou wasn’t ready to speculate just yet if he’s going to stick around in MMA or perhaps return to boxing because the only thing on his mind was paying tribute to his son with this win.

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“I knew I didn’t miss a step,” Ngannou said about his comeback. “I wasn’t worried about it. I knew everything was still there. It was just about me being able to manage my emotion. We’re here, we finally get the result

“I think my next move in combat sports all depends on me, how I feel. I always thought I still had a lot to give in combat sports. Hopefully I keep thinking that way.”

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Deion Sanders breaks down Colorado's DOMINANT 34-7 win over Arizona | CFB on FOX

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October 20, 2024

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Deion Sanders breaks down Colorado




Colorado Buffaloes HC Deion Sanders broke down his teams dominant performance in their 34-7 win over the Arizona Wildcats.



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MMA

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira full video: Watch the PFL knockout

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1 hour ago

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October 20, 2024

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Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira full video: Watch the PFL knockout

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

In the case of the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event Saturday, Francis Ngannou took height out of the occasion.

At Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ngannou (18-3) pounded Renan Ferreira (13-4) into unconsciousness with ground-and-pound punches from back mount for a knockout stoppage at 3:32 of Round 1.

Ngannou, 38, took the fight to the ground early. From there, Ferreira shot up a triangle. Once Ngannou escaped, it was practically game over. The former UFC heavyweight champion who never lost his title blasted his opponent with big punches to end the fight.

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The bout was Ngannou’s first in MMA since his UFC departure in early 2023. He competed twice in boxing vs. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, and lost both bouts. The first was by controversial split decision. The second was a knockout defeat.

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Ferreira’s four-fight winning streak comes to an end. He emerged as the best option for Ngannou after knockout wins over Matheus Scheffel, Maurice Greene, Denis Goltsov, and Ryan Bader.

Up-to-the-minute PFL: Battle of the Giants results include:

MAIN CARD (DAZN pay-per-view, 4 p.m. ET)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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