Francis Ngannou is back to the sport that made him star in the first place and Mike Tyson is all for it. The Cameroonian-French mixed martial artist is set to face Renan Ferreira in his highly anticipated debut under the PFL banner, marking his comeback after a two-year hiatus. This follows Ngannou’s brief foray into boxing, which wasn’t as successful as ‘The Predator’ might have wanted, his boxing record-wise.
Last year, Ngannou locked horns with former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and lost the fight via a close split decision. Later, he took on former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, which ended in a quick and decisive knockout loss for the Cameroonian native. Now, the former UFC heavyweight champion is vying for the PFL heavyweight title. Meanwhile, Mike Tyson has taken to social media to hype the upcoming fight of his former pupil.
When is the fight?
Turning to Instagram, hours earlier, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’, who helped train Ngannou for his Tyson Fury fight, shared a promotional clip of the fight, with the caption reading, “Brace for Impact! Francis Ngannou vs Renan Ferrera. Godzilla vs King Kong”. The PFL pay-per-view super fight is scheduled for October 19th, but PFL has not shared a location for the fight as of the time of writing.
Although, per several reports, Saudi Arabia has been touted as the destination for the showdown being billed as the ‘Battle of the Giants’, as they bought a stake in the league last year. Interestingly, the event will have a co-main event featuring Cris Cyborg and two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco, who will fight for the women’s featherweight title.
Ferreira, who has a habit of ending his fights early, is the reigning PFL heavyweight champion, who acquired the belt back in February by knocking out two-weight Bellator champion Ryan Bader. His formidable stature is even more evident from the fact that out of his 13 wins, Ferreira won 11 by knockouts
Even Francis Ngannou, who signed with PFL in May 2023, praised his upcoming opponent, stating, “Renan is a great fighter; I have been watching him for years. I have been studying him for years, in fact, I’ve been telling people to watch this guy.” However, Ngannou hasn’t fought since he successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. So, what is motivating him to win?
Francis Ngannou will use tragedy as his biggest motivation
Back in April, Francis Ngannou revealed through a social media post that his son, Kobe, had tragically passed away. Soon condolences poured in for the Cameroonian-French from both the MMA and boxing community. While speaking to Sky Sports recently, Ngannou revealed his biggest priority is honoring his late son Kobe rather than any personal achievements from the fight.
“I want to do something good in his memory. Not to be the reason for me to quit but to be motivation and also to fight for him.” Ngannou confessed. He was asked about whether he can switch his mindset back to MMA, having competed in boxing in the last two years. In response, the former UFC champion said, “There is only one way to find out, but also I think now I have different motivation in my son.”
Mike Tyson had helped train Francis Ngannou for his fight against Tyson Fury, where he nearly caused an upset. Perhaps Mike Tyson hyping his upcoming fight may have similar effects if not better. Adding to that, Ngannou’s pursuit of honoring his late son makes the fight even more special. So the question is, will you be watching?
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