Francis Ngannou is one step nearer to strolling again into the cage.
At Friday’s official weigh-ins for PFL Battle of the Giants, the lineal heavyweight champion efficiently hit the mark at 256.8 kilos for his important occasion conflict with 2023 PFL champion Renan Ferreira, who got here in barely heavier at 261.5 kilos. Ngannou and Ferreira battle for the inaugural PFL Superfight heavyweight title.
Watch video of the official weigh-ins above.
Ngannou competes in MMA for the primary time since a profitable UFC title protection in opposition to Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. A 12 months after that contest, Ngannou parted methods with the UFC to affix the PFL and pursue a profession in boxing. He landed high-profile contests in opposition to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, shedding a razor-close cut up choice to Fury earlier than being brutally knocked out by Joshua this previous March.
All 18 fighters competing on Saturday’s occasion at Kingdom Enviornment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, efficiently made weight, together with championship bout rivals Cris Cyborg, Larissa Pacheco, Johnny Eblen, and Fabian Edwards.
Cyborg (144.1) and Pacheco (144.5) meet within the co-main occasion, with a Superfight featherweight title on the road. The legendary Cyborg enters because the reigning Bellator featherweight champion, having not misplaced a battle since 2018, whereas Pacheco is coming off of back-to-back PFL match wins in 2023 and 2022, the latter at light-weight.
Within the MMA Preventing Pound-for-Pound Rankings, Pacheco sits at No. 6, one spot forward of Cyborg. Like Ngannou, Cyborg has additionally dabbled in boxing, going 4-0 competing sporadically over the previous two years.
For the night’s third title battle, Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (184.7) was on level for his rematch with Fabian Edwards (184.9).
See official PFL Battle of the Giants weigh-in outcomes under.
Foremost Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)
Francis Ngannou (256.8) vs. Renan Ferreira (261.5)
Larissa Pacheco (144.5) vs. Cris Cyborg (144.1)
Johnny Eblen (184.7) vs. Fabian Edwards (184.9)
Husein Kadimagomaev (146) vs. Zafar Mohsen (145.8)
A.J. McKee (155.8) vs. Paul Hughes (155.8)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. ET)
Raufeon Stots (135.8) vs. Marcos Breno (136)
Makkasharip Zaynukov (153.6) vs. Dedrek Sanders (154.9)
Ibragim Ibragimov (145.5) vs. Nacho Campos (145.9)
Tariq Ismail (145.1) vs. Taha Bendaoud (145.5)
