FIRST. ROUND. FINISH!
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Francis Ngannou emphatically returned to the world of mixed martial arts on Saturday with a first-round technical knockout (3:22) over 2023 Professional Fighters League Tournament winner Renan Ferreira in the “Super Fights: Battle of the Giants” main event at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou showed no rust from his over two-year hiatus from mixed martial arts. After two high-profile boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, many wondered if Ngannou would stand and bang with the 6-foot-8 giant, but the former lineal heavyweight kingpin was too smart. Ngannou took Ferreira down with a smooth double leg and dragged him to the fence where he patiently waited to strike. Ferreira sacrificed his butterfly guard to throw up a triangle attempt, but as Ngannou shrugged off the attempt, Ferreira’s back became exposed. Smelling blood in the water, Ngannou pounced on Ferreira and reigned down bombs until his prey was laid out stiff on the canvas.
It’s unclear what’s next for Ngannou (18-3). He’s arguably the most famous heavyweight fighter on the planet and has proven to be a box office draw in MMA and boxing. Ngannou’s main focus postfight was mourning the loss of his then 15-month-old son Kobe.
Cris Cyborg turned back the clock and denied the young, hungry and scrappy Larissa Pacheco in the co-main event. After five violent rounds, Cyborg emerged victorious via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to win the PFL Super Fights featherweight title. Cyborg looked ferocious in the opening round and consistently cracked Pacheco with heavy shots, but as the fight wore on the two-time PFL Tournament winner gained momentum.
Pacheco’s best round came in the third where she battered Cyborg with hard rights and had her face bloodied from cuts suffered earlier in the contest. The lacerations and the blood must’ve fueled Cyborg, who quickly retook control of the fight in Round four. With three rounds in the bag, Cyborg refused to coast to the finish line and poured on the pressure as the fans exploded out of their seats.
Related » PFL ‘Battle of the Giants’ Round-by-Round Scoring
Johnny Eblen once again proved that he’s the best middleweight in Bellator by dominating Fabian Edwards.
Eblen cruised to a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) win despite a late fight flurry from Edwards. With his dominant wrestling, Eblen controlled the first 20 minutes, but Edwards nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback late once he could back Eblen down with elbows and punches. Eblen weathered the storm and clinched his way to the final bell. With the win, Eblen improved to 16-0 and picked up his third title defense.
Despite coming in as a comfortable favorite, Husein Kadimagomaev had little answers for Germany’s Zafar Mohsen. Kadimagomaev looked slow and lethargic and couldn’t keep Mohsen from employing his wrestling. Mohsen (14-4) has finished his last three fights but cruised to a decision win in his PFL debut (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Welcome to the big show, Paul Hughes.
The budding Irish superstar picked up the biggest win of his career via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee in an action-packed lightweight showdown.
McKee started the fight strong and tagged the former Cage Warriors champion before Hughes nearly took his head off with a knee. It didn’t take long for Hughes to gain McKee’s respect, and he quickly established that he was the bigger puncher. With the first round still in the balance, Hughes (13-1) surged ahead on the scorecards with a flush shot that dropped McKee on his butt at the buzzer.
McKee was much more cautious throughout the rest of the fight and looked visibly gassed. Hughes admitted to being exhausted, but his body language spoke confidently as he sprawled off McKee’s desperate takedown attempts. The fight tightened as McKee kept his pressure on Hughes, but the Irish knockout artist managed to always break free and throw flashy, devastating combinations. The third round could’ve gone either way, and the victory could’ve gone to either man, but Hughes’ big striking and impressive defensive wrestling made McKee (22-2) look average. Following the win, Hughes called out reigning lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov to a title fight.
Raufeon Stots proved that he’s still amongst the best bantamweights in the world and could find himself with another crack at the Bellator bantamweight title after his gutsy win over the dangerous Marcos Breno. The heavy-handed Brazillian (15-4) staggered Stots early with his right hand and looked to hand the Houston native his third first-round knockout loss. The 35-year-old former interim champ showed his class by weathering the storm and employing his wrestling.
Stots, a former NCAA DII wrestling champion, grinded his way back into the fight and neutralized Breno’s power with constant shots and position changes. The pace took a toll on Breno, and with two minutes left in the fight, he left his neck open in exhaustion. Stots jumped on the opportunity and sunk in the rear-naked choke. With the win, Stots (21-2) will look to avenge his loss to reigning Bellator bantamweight champion Patrick Mix, who knocked out Stots with a flying knee in their first fight.
Makkasharip Zaynukov came into his PFL debut and ragdolled Dedrek Sanders en route to an easy unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26). Sanders hoped to build off his first-round knockout over Sergio Cossio in August, but Zaynukov kept him scrambling for his life. With his legs clamped, Sanders could do little with Zaynukov battering him over the top of his guard. It was a dominating performance from the Dagenstani wrestler, who picked up his fifth-straight win.
A battle of unbeaten featherweights culminated in a three-round wrestling masterclass from Dagestan’s Ibragim Ibragimov. The 20-year-old nullified Nacho Campos‘ (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) explosive striking and kept him on the mat for 15 minutes. Campos found some success with his knees in the second round, but Ibragimov’s constant pressure kept Campos on the defensive en route to his first career loss. With the victory, Ibragimov (8-0) won his second-straight fight in the PFL.
Taha Bendaoud’s undefeated record was on the chopping block midway through his fight with fellow featherweight Tariq Ismail. “The Atlas Lion” had spent most of the featherweight tilt on his back and had taken heavy damage. His face was swollen and leaking blood, but Bendaoud still saw his opening to flip the fight on his head.
Moving in for the finish, Ismail didn’t realize that he was falling into a trap. He reigned down punches but didn’t see the triangle attempt that Bendaoud threw out of desperation and with 3:51 left in the second round it was too late. Ismail was sick to his stomach after tapping out and chucked his mouthpiece at the fence in frustration. An easy win had slipped his fingers, while Bendaoud (4-0) held on to his unblemished record.
