PFL: Battle of the Giants results: Francis Ngannou pounds Renan Ferreira into unconsciousness

Watch Francis Ngannou knock out Renan Ferreira in his return to MMA.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

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

At Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ngannou (18-3) pounded [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (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.

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.

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.

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Full PFL: Battle of the Giants results include:

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