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Francis Ngannou will face Renan Ferreira on his return to MMA on 19 October.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Cameroonian heavyweight will make his promotional debut for the Professional Fighters League (PFL), having previously been a champion in the UFC.<\/p>\n
On the undercard, long-time Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg<\/a> will face PFL two-weight champion Larissa Pacheco.<\/p>\n Winners of both contests will receive the PFL’s newly established “super-fights championship belt”.<\/p>\n Ngannou, 37, has spent the past year concentrating on boxing, with fights against former world champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.<\/p>\n Ngannou lost both bouts, suffering a second-round knockout to Joshua<\/a> in March after a split-decision points loss to Fury.<\/p>\n Brazil’s Ferreira won the PFL’s 2023 heavyweight tournament and has been touted as Ngannou’s opponent since beating Bellator’s heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in February.<\/a><\/p>\n Ferreira, 34, has 13 wins, three losses and three no-contests on his MMA record.<\/p>\n Eleven of his 13 wins have come via knockout.<\/p>\n Ngannou has 17 victories in 20 MMA fights and his last win was a points decision over Frenchman Ciryl Gane in the UFC in January 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n He left the UFC at the end of his contract in 2023, citing a desire to switch to boxing.<\/p>\n Ngannou signed with the PFL last year and was named as the chairman of the PFL’s African league,<\/a> which launches in 2025.<\/p>\n The PFL uses a league format in the United States, with British flyweight Dakota Ditcheva reaching the final<\/a> of the 2024 tournament.<\/p>\n Ngannou’s fight against Ferreira will be a one-off, with the Brazilian deciding against entering the 2024 heavyweight tournament as he waited for a bout with Ngannou.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n