Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira live updates: How to watch PFL 'Battle of the Giants'

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Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira enter the cage Saturday with proper billing.

"Battle of the Giants," trumpets the Professional Fighters League (PFL), will pit Ngannou, a 6-4, 256-pound Cameroonian, against Ferreira, a 6-8, 261-pound Brazilian, in the main event of the PFL Super Fights in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Both men have jaw-dropping power.

Ferreria, 34, is 13-3 with 11 KOs. Ngannou, 38, is 17-3 with 12 knockouts. But numbers fail to account for another important storyline. This clash marks Ngannou’s first MMA fight since January 2022, after which he left UFC because of a contract dispute and ventured into pro boxing.

He stunned the world of combat sports in October 2023 when knocked down and nearly beat Tyson Fury in his pro boxing debut. But he got brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua in their March fight.

The following month, Ngannou announced his 15-month-old son died. Still grieving, Ngannou told USA TODAY Sports he decided to fight again in part because of his son’s death. Whether it was too soon will become clearer Saturday during his giant PFL debut.

Preliminary card starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Main card starts at 4 ET. 

The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

• Preliminary card on ESPN+. Free with subscription.
• Main card on DAZN. PPV fee: $49.99. 

The third fight of the main card is underway. Stay tuned for round-by-round analysis of all main card fights.

Round 1: Edwards connects with a left and Eblen counters with a left. Eblen connects with a left and a right; it staggers Edwards. Eblen has Edwards up against the fence before Edwards slips loose. Edwards connects with inside leg kicks. Eblen misses with a kick, then rushes forward and twice slams Edwards to the ground. Big takedown. And drops him a third time! Here come a couple of knees to Edwards’ hamstrings. The twirl around and Edwards knees Eblen in the gut a few times. Eblen 10-9. 

Round 2: Edwards drills Eblen with a left. Evidence he’s not done. Of course, not too long after Eblen has Edwards on the mat. Eblen looks solid in the dominant position, but not capitalizing yet with punches before Edwards gets back on his feet. Only to get slammed back to the mat! Oh, boy. Edwards back on his feet. Wanna guess what happened next? Up and down and up…They’re both on their feet and Eblen strikes with a right elbow. Finishing up the round on their feet. Edwards lands a solid left as the round ends. Eblen 10-9. Total Eblen 20-18.

It ended with Mohsen dropping elbows and blood on Kadimagomaev. Yes, the three-rounded featherweight was gritty and gory enough for an MMA card.

The fight unfolded slowly. And at the end of the first round, Kadimagomaev waved on Mohsen.

The action came later.

The powerfully built Mohsen dominated Kadimagomaev with his superior grappling over the final two rounds and snuck in ample punches too.

All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Mohsen, a 29-year-old German who improves to 14-4. Kad, 25 from Switzerland, fell to 11-2.

Round 1: Lackluster first minute. Fighters exchange some leg kicks and Kadimagomaev fires an overhand right, wrestles down Mohsen and drives him into the fence. Tangled on the fence. They break free and work back to the middle of the cage. Mohsen connects with a jab. Kadimagomaev calls him forward and Mohsen delivers a hard elbow. Kadimagomaev kicks and slips. Banana peel? Mohsen 10-9.

Round 2: Light action again until Mohsen tried to leap onto Kadimagomaev. He’s now on top of Kadimagomaev and getting in some right-hand punches. But Kad gains the advantage and they’re clinched on the fence. Kadimagomaev working from underneath, then gets flipped by Mohsen. But his punches are mostly stifled. Mohsen is bleeding from the right eye and Kadimagomaev is covered with it. But Mohsen inflicted more pain. 10-9 Mohsen. Total 20-18 Mohsen.

Round 3: Mohen wastes little time initiating the grappling. Kad seems happy to do it. They’re clinched against the fence, and Mohsen does appear to be the stronger of the two men. Mohsen dropping punches on Kad’s head with his right hand. More punches to the head. Ref breaks then up (thanks, ref!) and they’re back at the center of the cage. Mohsen delivers some nice kicks and a powerful right. Kad shoots low for a takedown and, well, that ain’t happening. Mohsen on top of Kad and dropping elbows and blood onto Kad. Mohsen 10-9. Total Mohsen 30-27.

When it was over, Hughes declared himself a “superstar.’’

“Damn straight,’’ he said during his in-cage interview.

Superstar? Well, maybe headed in that direction.

Hughes defeated a formidable McKee with a barrage of punches unleashed over the course of their three-round lightweight bout. The judges scored it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for Hughes.

The bell saved McKee when Hughes dropped him with a right at the end of the first round. But nothing could save McKee from the final outcome. Hughes improved to 13-1 and McKee dropped to 21-2

Round 1: McKee fires with a kick. Hughes nearly catches it but McKee jerks free. McKee punches and kicks and works Hughes against the fence before Hughes turns the tables. Clinched now. They trade knees to the gut. Just tangled. McKee breaks free and Hughes rewards him with a knee to the body. McKee delivers a couple of kicks and Hughes answers with punches. More kicks from McKee and more punches from Hughes. They’re wrapped up on the mat. Back on their feet and Hughes delivers a nasty knee and drops McKee with a huge right as the bell rings. Hughes 10, McKee 9.

Round 2: McKee lets fly with a kick to the chin. Nice spinning back kick there. Now, he’s working Hughes’ lead leg. McKee is surprisingly steady in light of the knockdown at the end of the round. He fires a left jab that gets through. Now they’re up against the fence. Not much happening, and then the fists fly and McKee knees Hughes in the chest. Hughes unloads a few strong punches. Referee sends the fighters to neutral corners. McKee warned for a kick that landed in Hughes’ groin area. Hughes answers with a left hook. He fires a barrage and a knee, and McKee cleverly catches it and slams McKee to the ground. Yet McKee works to control and knee McKee. Hughes 10, McKee 9. Total 20-18 Hughes. 

Round 3: McKee quickly works Hughes against the fence and McKee has the back before Hughes squirms free. They’re both back on their feet. Well, for a few seconds. McKee has the back again as they’re against the fence in wrestling mode. Hughes taking knees on his backside. Hughes is lose and smothering McKee with punches. The punches just keep on coming, one landing on McKee’s chin. Fight is back on the mat, with Hughes on top before McKee shows life and turns the table. Hughes find room to throw another scoring punch. Hughes 10, McKee 9. Total 30-27 Hughes.

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira main card 

• Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco, women’s featherweight 
• Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards, middleweight 
• Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen, featherweight 
• AJ McKee vs. Paul Hughes, lightweight 

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco time 

This fight is the co-main and will start directly before Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferriera 

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira preliminary card 

• Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno, bantamweight 
• Makkasharip  Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders, lightweight 
• Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos, featherweight 
• Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail, featherweight 

Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno by submission, 3rd round

Breno nearly knocked down Stots twice early in the first round of their three-round bantamweight fight. Any celebration would have been premature.

Breno maintained his aggressive attack and won the round. But Stots, a former NCAA Division II wrestling champion, eventually found an opportunity to capitalize on his grappling.

It went from good to brilliant for Stots in the third round, when Breno took down Stots only to find himself quickly under Stots’ control.

He punished Breno with punches and finished him off with a rear naked choke. Breno tapped out with 1:59 left in the fight.

Stots, a 25-year-old from Texas, improved to 21-2. Breno, a 26-year-old from Connecticut, fell to 15-4.

Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders, unanimous decision

By the end, about the only thing in question about this three-round lightweight fight was whether Sanders would avoid a submission or survive late hammer fists before the referee interceded.

He did.

But Zaynukov was dominant, securing seven takedowns. Perhaps the most impressive takedown: in the second round, Sanders caught Zaynukov’s leg after an attempted kick and yet moments later it was Zaynukov who wrestled Sanders to the mat.

Multiple times, Sanders appeared to squirm free. It was false hope, as Zaynukov sustained his dominance with superior grappling.

All three referees scored it as a unanimous decision for Zaynukov, a Russian who improved to 16-4. Sanders, a 34-year-old from Alaska, fell to 9-5. 

Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos by unanimous decision

Ibragimov opened the featherweight bout with a few kicks, including a flashy wheel kick. In retrospect, it felt like mostly show.

He quickly shifted into his dominant position: grappling, and Campos looked largely helpless. He spent most of the time on the mat – and looking to the referee in hopes he would instruct the fighters to stand up during the three-round featherweight bout.

No luck.

Campos did get in his shots, but Ibragimov’s fists connected far more – 125 strikes for Ibragimov to 57 strikes for Campos.

The crowd grew restless with all the wrestling, but the judges didn’t seem to mind. All three scored it 30-27 in favor of Ibrahimov, the 20-year-old from Republic of Dagestan who improved to 8-0.

Campos, a Spaniard, fell to 5-1.

Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail by submission, 2nd round 

Bendaoud’s face was bloody and swollen after the fight, but it didn’t keep him from pulling off a surprise move to win the featherweight bout.

Ismail dominated the first round after securing a takedown. It was more of the same in the second round, only this time Ismail pounded Bendaoud’s face as the blood flowed.

But as Ismail leaned in for more strikes, Bendaoud surprised him with a triangle choke and with his legs squeezed him like a boa constrictor before Ismail tapped out with 1:09 left in the second round.

Bendaoud, a 29-year-old from Morocco, improved to 4-0. Ismael, a 34-year-old from Sudan, fell to 8-2.

Francis Ngannou boxing record 

Ngannou is 0-2 in boxing. He is 17-3-1 in MMA with 12 KOs and 4 submissions. \

Renan Ferreira record 

13-3 in MMA with 11 KOs and one submission 

Francis Ngannou wife 

Ngannou, who has two children, has protected the details of his private life. 

How did Francis Ngannou son pass away 

In April, Ngannou announced his son Kobe had died at the age of 15 months. Ngannou said doctors failed to diagnose a brain malformation that resulted in Kobe’s death. 

Francis Ngannou height & weight 

6-4, 256 pounds 

Renan Ferreira height & weight 

6-8, 261 pounds 

How old is Francis Ngannou? 

38 

How old is Renan Ferreira? 

34 

Cris Cyborg record 

27-2 with 21 KOs and one submission 

How tall is Cris Cyborg?

5-8 

Larissa Pacheco record 

23-4 with 11 KOs and 8 submissions 

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