On Saturday night, 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira stamped his ticket to a fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Ferreira secured the matchup with a 21-second knockout of Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in the main event at PFL vs. Bellator. Ferreira was the only PFL fighter of six to win his fight.
After the fight, Ferreira took the microphone to issue a warning to Ngannou who was sitting cage side in Saudi Arabia.
"I am the real problem," Ferreira said. "I am the record-setter. Francis, where you at? I'm the champion out here. I've always been ready to fight with the very best in the world. Francis it can be in [MMA] or boxing, whatever you want to do."
Ngannou ended up leaving before having his face-off which begs the question, how serious is Ngannou about this fight?
If this fight ever does come to fruition, we will be looking at a who-lands-first scenario. We already know both of these men have one-punch knockout power and it will just be a matter of who lands it. Ferreira has 11 career wins by knockout, and Ngannou has 12, which seems fairly evenly matched.
Many fans are counting Ferreira out entirely, likely because his name does not carry the same weight as Ngannou's but we cannot count out heart. And Ngannou may be in a position where he has lost his hunger.
Ngannou has already achieved enough to make a lasting legacy, Ferreira is just starting out his.
The oddsmakers will probably weigh heavy on making Ngannou a favorite but we cannot count Ferreira out just yet.