EXPLAINER
All of the struggle particulars as Cameroon’s Ngannou returns to MMA to tackle Brazil’s Ferreira for the PFL heavyweight title.
Cameroonian fighter Francis Ngannou is ready to make his long-awaited return to the Blended Martial Arts (MMA) circuit to problem the Skilled Fighters League’s (PFL) heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira of Brazil.
Right here’s every little thing you could know in regards to the struggle night time:
When is the Ngannou vs Ferreira struggle?
The struggle is scheduled for Saturday, October 19.
When is the Ngannou-Ferreira ring stroll?
Ngannou and Ferreira will start their ring walks for the primary struggle at 11pm (20:00 GMT).
The place is the Ngannou vs Ferreira struggle going down?
The struggle will probably be held at Mayadeen, an occasions venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What are Ngannou and Ferreira preventing for?
The PFL Tremendous Fights heavyweight championship belt.
The place and the way can I observe the Ngannou vs Ferreira struggle dwell?
Al Jazeera could have dwell textual content and picture protection of the struggle from 15:00 GMT.
The struggle will probably be streamed and broadcast dwell on a number of regional platforms which might be charging pay-per-view charges.
What would be the period of the MMA struggle?
MMA fights differ of their variety of rounds and the period of every spherical, with title fights typically being the longest. On this case, the struggle will probably be unfold over 5 rounds of 5 minutes every. The full period, if all 5 rounds are accomplished, will probably be 25 minutes.
What’s the MMA struggle ring known as for Ngannou vs Perreira?
The customized cage for this struggle will probably be known as the PFL SmartCage.
Who’s Francis Ngannou?
The 38-year-old fighter started his profession in 2013 in France earlier than switching to the Final Combating Championship (UFC) two years later and have become the promotion’s heavyweight champion in March 2021. He saved the title till 2023, when he left the promotion.
Ngannou signed with the PFL in Could 2023, and the promotion agreed to let him observe his boxing aspirations, which noticed him tackle Tyson Fury in Riyadh on October 28, 2023, and Anthony Joshua, additionally in Riyadh, on March 8, 2024.
The Cameroonian’s journey started on the age of 12 when he labored in a sand quarry. In his mid-20s, he launched into an extended and life-threatening journey from Cameroon to France – a visit he as soon as described as “hell”.
Ngannou crossed the Sahara Desert and spent a 12 months in Morocco earlier than coming into Spain by the Mediterranean Sea. Upon reaching Spain, he was detained for coming into irregularly and spent two months in custody earlier than regaining his freedom and eventually making it to France.
In Paris, he was homeless till he discovered a health centre the place he may sleep and begin coaching as a fighter.
Who’s Renan Ferreira?
The Brazilian blended martial arts fighter started his profession in the USA in 2013 and joined the PFL in 2023.
The 34-year-old gained the PFL heavyweight title in a struggle in opposition to Denis Goltsov, whom he beat in a second-round complete knockout.
Ferreira, nicknamed “Problemo” has additionally recorded a win over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in a three-round non-title crossover struggle on February 24.
What’s Ngannou’s MMA struggle document?
- Fights: 20
- Wins: 17
- Losses: 3
- By knockout: 12 wins, 0 losses
- By submission: 4 wins, 0 losses
- By choice: 1 win, 3 losses
- By disqualification: 0 wins, 1 loss
What’s Ferreira’s MMA struggle document?
- Fights: 19
- Wins: 13
- Losses: 3
- By knockout: 11 wins, 1 loss
- By submission: 1 win, 1 loss
- By choice: 1 win, 0 losses
- By disqualification: 0 wins, 1 loss
What has Ngannou mentioned in regards to the struggle?
- On Ferreira: “Renan is on the prime of the road [of MMA fighters] however my whole life, my greatest opponent has at all times been me. On Saturday night time, I’m going to get him, so he needs to be prepared.”
- What to anticipate from the struggle: “That is an MMA struggle, so every little thing will probably be on show. We’ve ready every little thing, and every little thing will probably be on show. Ferreira is getting ready some issues as a result of he’s a jiu-jitsu black belt, and he’s not undermining my punching energy.”
- Plans for a knockout victory: “I’m going to struggle strategically and in line with how the struggle presents itself. In my profession, I went for a knockout, but it surely didn’t work out for me. The instances once I did rating a knockout, it wasn’t one thing that I had deliberate. I do know I’ve 25 minutes, so I’m going to put my recreation plan down in that 25 minutes and win the struggle.”
What has Ferreira mentioned in regards to the struggle?
- On Ngannou: “Each of us got here from humble beginnings. We had an unbelievable profession to achieve the place we’re proper now. It’s a nice honour to be preventing one of many strongest males on the planet.”
- What to anticipate: “We’re each full fighters. We are able to strike and grapple as properly. I’m able to struggle wherever the struggle goes.”
What are the pre-fight occasions?
The primary struggle will probably be preceded by 4 occasions:
- Girls’s Featherweight: Cris “Cyborg” vs Larissa Pacheco
- Bellator Middleweight: Johnny Eblen vs Fabian Edwards
- Featherweight: Husein Kadimagomaev vs Zafar Mohsen
- Light-weight: AJ McKee vs Paul Hughes
Who’s on the undercards?
5 undercard fights will construct as much as the primary occasion in Riyadh:
- Bantamweight: Raufeon Stots vs Marcos Breno
- Light-weight: Makkasharip Zaynukov vs Dedrek Sanders
- Featherweight: Ibragim Ibragimov vs Nacho Campos
- Middleweight: Mostafa Nada vs Ahmed Sami
- Featherweight: Youssef Al Housani vs Taha Bendaoud
Has Ngannou left boxing for MMA?
No. The fighter has been pursuing each since leaving the UFC in early 2023.
