Recap official weigh-ins for PFL: Battle of the Champions through these photos and video highlights from Riyadh.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The PFL: Battle of the Giants fight card now is set following Friday’s official weigh-ins session, where all 20 fighters successfully hit their marks on the scale.
Saturday’s event at The Mayadeen (ESPN+ pay-per-view, DAZN) is headlined by a pair of anticipated superfight title fights, as well as a main card with key matchups and prelims with regional talent.
Check out the weigh-in highlights in the video above and a link to the photo gallery from all of Friday’s happenings below.
See how the fighters of PFL: Battle of the Champions looked on the scale at official weigh-ins with video highlights and a photo gallery.
Dec 27, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a touchdown pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a touchdown pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Check out the PFL: Battle of the Giants weigh-in results from Saudi Arabia, featuring three title fights.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official PFL: Battle of the Giants (DAZN, ESPN+) fighter weigh-ins at the host hotel in Saudi Arabia.
Among those who weighed in were former UFC champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) and reigning PFL season winner Renan Ferreira (13-3), who meet in the main event for the heavyweight superfights title. The same happens between incoming Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg (27-2) and reigning PFL winner Larissa Pacheco (23-4), who fight for the women’s 145-pound superfights belt.
Plus, Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (15-0) has his title on the line in a rematch against Fabian Edwards (13-3), and former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee (22-1) continues his surge at lightweight against Paul Hughes (12-1).
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Below are the full PFL: Battle of the Giants weigh-in results:
MAIN CARD (DAZN pay-per-view, 4 p.m. ET)
Francis Ngannou (256.8) vs. Renan Ferreira (261.5) – for heavyweight superfights title
Cris Cyborg (144.5) vs. Larissa Pacheco (144.1) – for women’s featherweight superfights title
Champ Johnny Eblen (184.7) vs. Fabian Edwards (184.9) – for Bellator middleweight title
Husein Kadimagomaev (146) vs. Zafar Mohsen (145.8)
A.J. McKee (155.8) vs. Paul Hughes (155.8)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1:30 p.m. ET)
Marcos Breno (136) vs. Raufeon Stots (135.8)
Dedrek Sanders (154.9) vs. Makkasharip Zaynukov (153.6)
Nacho Campos (145.9) vs. Ibragim Ibragimov (145.5)
Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco have made weight for a historically significant women’s title fight at Saturday’s PFL PPV.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – One of the most significant women’s MMA fights in recent history is official after [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] and [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] made weight Friday for PFL: Battle of the Giants.
Former UFC, Strikeforce, Invicta FC and current Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cyborg (27-2) will attempt to add another belt to her mantle when she takes on 2022 PFL women’s lightweight champion and 2023 women’s featherweight champion Pacheco (23-4) for the women’s featherweight super fight belt.
The pair did their jobs to make on the scale at the host hotel, with Cyborg weighing in at 144.5 pounds, while Pacheco registered at 144.1.
Now the stage is set for Cyborg and Pacheco to share the cage in Saturday’s co-headliner at The Mayadeen, which airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view and DAZN following prelims simulcast on MMA Junkie.
Dan Hardy expects Francis Ngannou’s boxing experience to serve him well against Renan Ferreira.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] expects [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s boxing experience to serve him well against [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag].
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou (17-3) takes on Ferreira (13-3) in Saturday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants (DAZN/ESPN+) main event at The Mayadeen.
Since parting ways with the UFC, Ngannou boxed twice – a controversial decision loss to Tyson Fury, followed by a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in March. Despite Ngannou coming off the first knockout loss of his combat sports career, Hardy says the skills he acquired as a boxer will benefit him against the taller and rangier Ferreira.
“I don’t really think it affected Ngannou as a brand in any way,” Hardy told MMA Junkie. “So, I don’t necessarily think it will affect him as a fighter in any way, if that makes sense. I think that the time he’s spent in boxing, it will make him a better MMA fighter. …It allows people to manage range better. They’re able to step into range to land punches, but not crowd themselves and go into a clinch, and that’s going to be really, really valuable for him in this fight.
“Because I would say that he needs to be close to Renan Ferreira to get inside his reach. I don’t know if he wants to waste too much energy grappling with him. I think we will see some wrestling and grappling out of Ngannou. Ferreira’s huge, he’s a sizable individual. Just to take him down and control him is going to be a massive amount of energy expended. So, I think Ngannou being able to stay in the pocket and box is going to be very useful for him in this fight.”
Ngannou returns to MMA for the first time since successfully defending his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.
Check out these photos from the PFL: Battle of the Giants pre-fight press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Check out these photos from the PFL: Battle of the Giants pre-fight press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which featured headliners [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] and [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag], co-headliners [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] and [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag], and more from the main card. (Photos courtesy of PFL)
Dec 26, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jeremiah Ledbetter (95) celebrates after sacking Detroit Lions quarterback Chase Daniel (4) during the first quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
In one man’s opinion, talk of the world’s top heavyweight should be focused on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, not New York in November.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – As far as [autotag]Donn Davis[/autotag] is concerned, talk about the world’s top heavyweight should be focused on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, not New York in November.
Put simpler, the promotion’s co-owner thinks the PFL will have the best heavyweight in MMA after Saturday, not the UFC. And further, Davis implied that disputing that claim would take a cross-promotion of some kind with the UFC – an idea CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] essentially never has been keen to.
At PFL: Battle of the Giants (DAZN/ESPN+) at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (17-3) takes on [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (13-3) in a PFL heavyweight superfight title bout. Ngannou has boxed twice since he left the UFC, but hasn’t fought an MMA bout since January 2022 before he left the UFC for the PFL after a contract dispute.
At UFC 309, which takes place Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (27-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) is a massive favorite upwards of 7-1 against former champ [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC). Jones won the UFC heavyweight title after Ngannou vacated it.
And naturally, depending on which side is asked, the other side is ducking – either Jones or Ngannou.
“Our focus is on this Saturday,” Davis said after a Thursday news conference in Saudi Arabia for the pay-per-view. “This is the biggest fight in MMA in heavyweight this year. Francis, when he left the UFC, he was the pound-for-pound No. 1 and the heavyweight champion. And then Ferreira is the biggest rising star … This is the fight everybody wants to see. Whoever comes out of this fight is the No. 1 in the world. Whoever wants to claim the No. 1 spot goes through the winner of this fight, not through the UFC – this fight. Whoever wants to claim that position better be calling us after Saturday, not calling them.”
Jones has suggested his fight with Miocic might be his swan song. Ngannou is in his late 30s, as well. Absent cross-promotion, and reasonably soon, it seems like a Jones-Ngannou fight is a longshot at best.
But Davis implied it could happen if White wanted it to.
“We’ve said at the PFL we want to give the fans what they want, and that’s the best fights in the world,” Davis said. “Francis Ngannou? He said he’ll take on all comers. I think Jon Jones wants to cement his legacy. There’s only one obstacle to that fight, and we know who that is.”
After the UFC 309 heavyweight title fight between Jones and Miocic, the UFC has interim champ [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] waiting in the wings, as well.
The build to PFL: Battle of the Giants is getting stronger after the two superfight title bouts faced off at Thursday’s press conference.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The build to PFL: Battle of the Giants is getting stronger after seeing the two superfight title bouts face off at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.
The inaugural heavyweight title contest of [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (17-3) vs. [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (13-3) and women’s featherweight championship matchup of [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (27-2) vs. [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (13-3) had staredowns after answering questions from media members, and now weigh-ins are the remaining obstacle before fight night.
Bellator middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (15-0) also squared off with challenger [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (13-3) for their main card title rematch, and ex-Bellator champ [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (22-1) faced off with lightweight opponent [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag] (12-1).
Check out the press conference staredowns for Saturday’s event, which takes place at The Mayadeen and airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view and DAZN following prelims simulcasted on MMA Junkie.
At PFL: Battle of the Giants, a confident Fabian Edwards gets another crack at Johnny Eblen’s Bellator middleweight title.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] gets a second crack at Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen, and isn’t putting too much into losing the first matchup.
At PFL: Battle of the Giants in Riyadh, Edwards (13-3) will look to avenge the loss to Eblen (15-0), which came at Bellator 299 last September. All it took was one win, and “The Assassin” now finds himself days away from another Bellator title shot.
“It feels right,” Edwards told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day. “Some people say it’s too soon and all of that, but for me, it feels right. … “I just look at it as one fight doesn’t mean that’s how all the fights will play out. I look at it as a new fight, but I’ve felt him before.”
The loss to Eblen snapped a three-fight winning streak for Edwards. He immediately returned to the win column in his following outing against Aaron Jeffery, winning by unanimous decision.
Looking back on the first meeting, Edwards believes he was doing everything properly against Eblen until an ill-timed mistake left an opening. Ahead of the rematch, he studied the first fight and said he watched the finishing sequence “thousands” of times, which taught him an important lesson.
“The small details,” Edwards said when asked what is different going into the rematch. “That’s what this fighting game is, it’s the small details that make a difference. I look back at the last fight, it was a small mistake that made a difference, and I made sure I corrected those.”
The scorecards were all over the place in the first meeting with Eblen. One judge had both rounds for Eblen, another scored both for Edwards, while the third scored one round for either fighter.
This time around, whether it’s on the scorecards or by early stoppage, Edwards is confident he will leave Riyadh with the Bellator middleweight title.
“I get my hand raised by any means,” Edwards said. “I feel like the last fight, I was beating him. It wasn’t any areas that he was outclassing me at. But it’s MMA, it’s 4 oz. gloves, and you get yourself caught sometimes. That’s what I believe happened.”
The final press conference for PFL: Battle of the Giants takes place Thursday with Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira among those to attend.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The PFL: Battle of the Giants pre-fight press conference takes place Thursday, and you can watch a live stream of the event in the video above.
The press conference takes place ahead of Saturday’s fight card, which airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view and DAZN.
PFL: Battle of the Giants is built around two inaugural superfight title bouts. [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (17-3) vs. [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (13-3) at heavyweight, and [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (27-2) vs. [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (13-3) at women’s featherweight.
Here’s what you need to know about the PFL: Battle of the Giants press conference.
What time does the PFL: Battle of the Giants press conference start?
The PFL: Battle of the Giants press conference starts at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT, which is 2 p.m. local time in Riyadh.
Who’s taking part in the PFL: Battle of the Giants press conference?
The four fighters scheduled for the superfight title bouts are slated to participate in the PFL: Battle of the Giant press conference: Ngannou, Ferreira, Cyborg and Pacheco.
