EXPLAINER
All of the combat particulars as Cameroon’s Ngannou returns to MMA to tackle Brazil’s Ferreira for the PFL heavyweight title.
Cameroonian fighter Francis Ngannou is about 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 all the things it’s good to know concerning the combat evening:
When is the Ngannou vs Ferreira combat?
The combat is scheduled for Saturday, October 19.
When is the Ngannou-Ferreira ring stroll?
Ngannou and Ferreira will start their ring walks for the primary combat at 11pm (20:00 GMT).
The place is the Ngannou vs Ferreira combat happening?
The combat shall 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 comply with the Ngannou vs Ferreira combat stay?
Al Jazeera may have stay textual content and photograph protection of the combat from 15:00 GMT.
The combat shall be streamed and broadcast stay on a number of regional platforms which can be charging pay-per-view charges.
What would be the period of the MMA combat?
MMA fights differ of their variety of rounds and the period of every spherical, with title fights usually being the longest. On this case, the combat shall be unfold over 5 rounds of 5 minutes every. The entire period, if all 5 rounds are accomplished, shall be 25 minutes.
What’s the MMA combat ring referred to as for Ngannou vs Perreira?
The customized cage for this combat shall be referred to 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 stored the title till 2023, when he left the promotion.
Ngannou signed with the PFL in Might 2023, and the promotion agreed to let him comply with 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 getting into Spain by means of the Mediterranean Sea. Upon reaching Spain, he was detained for getting 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 might sleep and begin coaching as a fighter.
Who’s Renan Ferreira?
The Brazilian blended martial arts fighter started his profession in america in 2013 and joined the PFL in 2023.
The 34-year-old gained the PFL heavyweight title in a combat towards 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 combat on February 24.
What’s Ngannou’s MMA combat document?
- Fights: 20
- Wins: 17
- Losses: 3
- By knockout: 12 wins, 0 losses
- By submission: 4 wins, 0 losses
- By determination: 1 win, 3 losses
- By disqualification: 0 wins, 1 loss
What’s Ferreira’s MMA combat document?
- Fights: 19
- Wins: 13
- Losses: 3
- By knockout: 11 wins, 1 loss
- By submission: 1 win, 1 loss
- By determination: 1 win, 0 losses
- By disqualification: 0 wins, 1 loss
What has Ngannou mentioned concerning the combat?
- On Ferreira: “Renan is at the top of the line [of MMA fighters] but my entire life, my biggest opponent has always been me. On Saturday night, I am going to get him, so he should be ready.”
- What to anticipate from the combat: “This is an MMA fight, so everything will be on display. We’ve prepared everything, and everything will be on display. Ferreira is preparing some things because he is a jiu-jitsu black belt, and he is not undermining my punching power.”
- Plans for a knockout victory: “I am going to fight strategically and according to how the fight presents itself. In my career, I went for a knockout, but it didn’t work out for me. The times when I did score a knockout, it wasn’t something that I had planned. I know I have 25 minutes, so I am going to lay my game plan down in that 25 minutes and win the fight.”
What has Ferreira mentioned concerning the combat?
- On Ngannou: “Both of us came from humble beginnings. We had an incredible career to reach where we are right now. It is a great honour to be fighting one of the strongest men in the world.”
- What to anticipate: “We are both complete fighters. We can strike and grapple as well. I am ready to fight wherever the fight goes.”
What are the pre-fight occasions?
The principle combat shall 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.
