Francis Ngannou has his first assignment in the PFL, a tall task in 6-foot-8 Renan Ferreira.
Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick is well aware of the dangers the 2023 PFL heavyweight champion brings to the cage, but believes Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 0-0 PFL) will remind everyone what he can do in MMA. “The Predator” left the UFC as the champion, went on to box two of the best heavyweights on the planet, and is now set to return to MMA on Oct. 19 at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants.
According to Nicksick, win over Ferreira (13-3 MMA, 7-1 PFL) will be important for Ngannou to keep his name in conversations as the best heavyweight in MMA.
“This is a very dangerous opponent,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “We’ve been watching him for a long time. Fast, long, big, tall, powerful guy. So we got our work cut out for us, but I think if Francis can go in there and do what he’s capable of, yeah, it definitely puts us right back in that mix.”
Although Ngannou lost both of his boxing outings to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, he is a winner of six straight in MMA. That streak includes stoppage wins over former UFC champions Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic. In his final UFC bout, he beat the then-interim champ with a torn MCL and damaged ACL.
“We’re talking about a guy who beat Ciryl Gane on one leg,” Nicksick said. “What he’s capable of doing when he’s healthy, it’s just different. It really is just different, and we saw pieces of that when he fought Tyson Fury. This guy’s a competitor and he raises his level every time out.”
Ngannou will enter the first fight of his PFL contract against arguably the best possible opponent the promotion can currently offer. But what does Ferreira bring to the table that could threaten Ngannou?
“Speed and very good basics,” Nicksick said. “And I don’t mean that to be rude. He wins fights off a jab-cross and pull counters, and super sharp, sharp basics. But you talk about the heavyweight division where you’re looking at 4 oz. gloves, and a guy that size and that stature, he touches you with one strike, one hand, he could put your lights out. We saw that with Ryan Bader, who’s an accomplished heavyweight.”
Ferreira, 34, stopped Bader in just 21 seconds at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions in February, which came after a second-round stoppage of Denis Goltsov to win the 2023 championship in November. In his seven PFL wins, Ferreira has only gone the distance once.
“Just a guy that I think is only going to get better in Renan Ferreira,” Nicksick said. “So, we got our work cut out for us, and I’m excited for the challenge.”
