by Ngannou’s heavyweight bout against Brazil’s Renan Ferreira on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is his first MMA bout since defending his UFC title against Ciryl Gane in 2021.
Although he has boxed twice since then, Ngannou insists he never left the sport of MMA, even stopping the interview midway to make his point.
“I’m not going back to MMA – I never left,” Ngannou said.
In the time that Ngannou’s only competitive appearance in the boxing ring took place, the landscape of the MMA heavyweight division has changed dramatically: American Jon Jones won the UFC title and Briton Tom Aspinall was named the promotion’s interim champion.
Ferreira won the PFL’s global annual heavyweight tournament in 2023, but doubts remain about his legitimacy as a challenger to Ngannou compared to names like Jones and Aspinall.
Ferreira has won 13 professional fights and lost three, securing 11 knockouts, while Ngannou has won 20 of his fights and lost three, including 12 knockouts.
“I think Renan is a great fighter. I also feel like I don’t know him personally, but I feel like he’s a great person,” Ngannou said.
“At the moment that is the biggest challenge. There’s going to be a 6-foot guy sitting across from me, so he’s the biggest challenge right now.”
In August, Ngannou said he was considering retiring this year after his son died in April, but he decided to keep fighting to honor him.
The card in Riyadh, titled “PFL Super Fights,” is the most ambitious the promotion has ever staged. Special commemorative titles were created for Ngannou’s fight and the co-main bout between Brazilian featherweights Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco.
Such is Ngannou’s star power that the event has been built around him, with the Bellator middleweight title fight between American Johnny Eblen and Briton Fabian Edwards – a bout originally scheduled to headline in London in September – moving to third place of the card was referred.
Because of the money his name brings in, Ngannou has plenty of options for the future and has indicated he plans to compete in MMA and boxing at the same time.
“I want to achieve everything that is possible. I have no limits. Limits that you may end up breaking doesn’t mean you should stop,” Ngannou said.
“At this point I just want to see how far I can go and what else I can do before the sun goes down. I’m just discovering myself.”
