The PFL is building a big pay-per-view event featuring the debuts of Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg.
In the main event, Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 0-0 PFL) will make his long-awaited PFL debut against Renan Ferreira. And in the co-feature, Cyborg (27-2 MMA, 0-0 PFL), also making a big splash with a promotional debut, is set to face Larissa Pacheco. Newly minted PFL super fights championship belts will be up for grabs in both fights.
The event takes place Oct. 19 and airs live on pay-per-view, the promotion announced Wednesday. No location or venue was included in the announcement.
BREAKING
HE'S BACK!
The Return of @francis_ngannou
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1⃣Gigantic night of MMAand it all goes down on October 19th #PFLSuperFights pic.twitter.com/mDHCFd6PBp
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 7, 2024
Ngannou is set for his first MMA fight since exiting the UFC in January 2023. The last fight on his contract was a successful title defense in a unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
After negotiations with the UFC failed, Ngannou signed with the PFL, who granted him the freedom to compete in boxing. “The Predator” landed two marquee boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. The fights were lucrative, but Ngannou lost both bouts. He now returns to MMA, where he is a winner of six straight fights, a streak that includes five finishes.
Ferreira (13-3 MMA, 7-1 PFL) was last in action in February at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions, where he quickly defeated Ryan Bader in just 21 seconds. Prior to that outing, he captured the 2023 PFL heavyweight championship by stopping Denis Goltsov in Round 2.
Cyborg last competed in MMA at Bellator 300, stopping Cat Zingano in the first round to defend her featherweight title. Since then, Cyborg made two appearances in the boxing ring, recording stoppages against Kelsey Wickstrum in January and Aria Wild in June.
Back-to-back PFL champ Pacheco (23-4 MMA, 12-2 PFL) will compete for the first time in 2024. In 2022, Pacheco won a third meeting against Kayla Harrison in the finals to become the lightweight season winner. The following year, she returned to the featherweight division, defeating Marina Mokhnatkina in the finals to win the 2023 season.
The current PFL pay-per-view lineup on Oct. 19 includes:
