RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - After a stellar 2023 which saw him capture the 2023 PFL heavyweight title, Brazil's Renan Ferreira is preparing for the biggest fight of his career.
On Saturday night, live on DAZN, Ferreira will be facing former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou who will be making his PFL debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ferreira presents a unique challenge to Ngannou in a number of ways. One of those is his 6' 8" frame which makes him taller than Ngannou by four inches, but fans will have to wait until fight night to see whether this has any bearing on the result.
There is also Ferreira's knockout power which came to prominence in his PFL heavyweight title success last year.
Matheus Scheffel, Maurice Greene and Dennis Golstov were all knocked out by the Brazilian in 2023, and this was followed up by another stoppage against Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in February.
Speaking to DAZN through a translator in Riyadh ahead of his showdown with Ngannou, Ferreira had a stern and simple warning for his opponent when it came to his striking ability inside the SmartCage.
"What I meant is that when I throw a punch and it lands, you won’t know what happened," Ferreira said.
"He hits hard, but I hit hard as well."
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This venture into the cage for Ngannou will bring an end to a two year absence from MMA after a venture into the world of boxing.
Ngannou's last outing inside a boxing ring was one to forget after a brutal second round knockout against Anthony Joshua in March, and while he claims to have moved on from this particular loss, it will be intriguing to see whether Ferreira can trigger any mental scar tissue in the Cameroonian.
Watch Ngannou vs. Ferreira on DAZN
Watch Francis Ngannou's return to the cage as he faces Renan Ferreira in the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants this Saturday on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
The card also features Cris Cyborg against Larissa Pacheco for the women's featherweight world title.
The PPV is priced at £19.99 for UK viewers to watch on any device, including Smart TV's, game consoles, phones, tablets and PC's.
To purchase and find the prices in your region click here.
Purchasing the PPV includes a seven-day free trial of all of DAZN's programming across a range of sports.
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