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Francis Ngannou finally has an opponent.

“The Predator” will make his SmartCage debut against the winner of Ryan Bader vs. Renan Ferreira, who collide atop the “PFL vs. Bellator” pay-per-view (PPV) event this weekend in Riyadh. The winner will exit Saudia Arabia as the promotion’s heavyweight champion.

Along with a shiny new belt.

“The PFL is excited to announce Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA in the PFL PPV Division will be against the winner of the PFL Champion vs Bellator Champion Heavyweight Superfight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader,” said Peter Murray, PFL CEO.” Francis is a true combat sports icon with a global fan base and appeal. We, along with the rest of the MMA world, will be watching to see who his first opponent will be, Ferreira or Bader.”

A date and location for Ngannou’s PFL debut have yet to be revealed.

Before that happens, Ngannou — who is now a Top 10 contender in the WBC rankings — will make his return to the “sweet science” when he collides with former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua next month in Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou has not competed in MMA since defeating Ciryl Gane back in early 2022.

“I feel like this is almost a make it or break it moment,” Ferreira told MMAmania.com. “It’s tough to even say this because there’s so much on the line between the belt and the million dollars, but there really is more on the line when you talk about future opportunities and the opportunity to fight a guy like Francis after this.”

To see who else is fighting at the PFL vs. Bellator championship PPV event click here.

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Francis Ngannou will find his next opponent after the PFL vs. Bellator card on Saturday.

The former UFC heavyweight champion, who faces Anthony Joshua in a boxing match on March 8, confirmed plans to return to MMA and make his long awaited debut in the PFL in the near future. He won’t have to wait long to find out who he’s facing with Bellator champ Ryan Bader scheduled to clash with PFL champ Renan Ferreira with the winner expected to move onto face Ngannou.

PFL officials announced the news on Thursday after Ngannou addressed the possible fight during an appearance on SportsCenter.

“I think the winner of this is the guy I’m going to fight in my MMA return,” Ngannou said. “It is my intention to return to the sport. When exactly, I think depends on March 8. Everything depends on March 8.

“[Bader and Ferreira] are both champions and one of them is going to be a champ-champ. So, I think there wasn’t a better way to find an opponent for m, since I am a champion myself, just in case you have forgotten.”

Bader and Ferreira previously called for the winner to welcome Ngannou to the PFL after he inked a lucrative deal to join the promotion following the end of his career in the UFC. Not long after signing with the PFL, Ngannou booked a boxing match against linear heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, which delayed his eventual return to MMA.

Ngannou ended up scoring a knockdown on Fury and took him to a razor-close split decision. That led to Ngannou being ranked by the WBC in boxing and then he was booked for the fight against Joshua in March.

Win, lose or draw, it appears Ngannou remains steadfast about returning to MMA, although there’s no exact timeline when that would happen.

“The PFL is excited to announce Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA in the PFL PPV Division will be against the winner of the PFL Champion vs Bellator Champion Heavyweight super fight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader,” PFL CEO Pete Murray said in a press release. “Francis is a true combat sports icon with a global fan base and appeal.

“We, along with the rest of the MMA world, will be watching to see who his first opponent will be, Ferreira or Bader.”

Bader previously told MMA Fighting that a fight against somebody like Ngannou would be worth the wait, even if that meant he had to sit on the sidelines for an extended period of time.

“I am at that point in my career, 40-something fights now, that’s what I want to do. I want these bigger fights,” Bader said. “This fight [against Ferreira] came along and it’s a big fight. It’s something new. It’s champ vs. champ so that was awesome. [Francis Ngannou] is something you wait for.”

As part of his deal to sign with PFL, Ngannou not only negotiated a handsome fee for his services but he got the promotion to agree to a minimum $ 2 million payday for his opponents. It looks like either Bader or Ferreira are now vying for the opportunity to cash in when they meet on Saturday.

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Surging welterweight contender, Ian Garry has laid an eye-catching prediction for his sought after fight with former interim division gold holder, Colby Covington – vowing to “beat the mouth off” the outspoken veteran in front of ormer United States president, Donald Trump.

Garry, who made his Octagon return over the course of last weekend, turned in a dominant, albeit uneventful split decision win over Geoff Neal, improving the Dubliner to 14-0 as a professional to boot.

And off the back of his victory, Portmarnock native Garry has landed at number six in the official welterweight rankings.

Ian Garry targets Colby Covington grudge match

Shooting his shot for his next opponent, Garry firmly has his sights fixed on a fight with former interim champion, Covington – vowing to beat the Clovis native in front of former president, Trump if they share the Octagon.

“I’ll talk to him (Colby Covington) when I beat the f*ck out of him in the Octagon,” Ian Garry told MMA Fighting. “If (Donald) Trump’s in attendance, I will drag Colby in front of Trump, and I’ll beat the mouth off him, and I’ll say, ‘This is what you’ve created’. Boom. ‘This is MAGA.’ I’m like, ‘It’s not more. Get rid of him. Get him out of the UFC.’”

For Covington, the MMA Masters staple has been chasing a fight with former title chaser, Stephen Thompson since his most recent outing back in December – which saw him falter in a third attempt to become the undisputed champion, dropping a decision shutout loss to the incumbent, Leon Edwards. 

Staking his claim for a potential Irish homecoming ever-since his eventual Octagon landing, Garry has since claimed that he may be too much of a “star” to make a return to Dublin, leading to outcry from fans to maintain the 26-year-old does not have ideas above his own station. 

Does Ian Garry have what it takes to topple veteran, Colby Covington?

LowKickMMA.com

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley puts his title on the line for the first time against Marlon “Chito” Vera in the UFC 299 main event on March 9.  If O’Malley wins, and he predicts that he will, he wants to face featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria at the Sphere on Mexican Independence Day.  

Both men are newly crowned champions with contenders awaiting in their divisions.  Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier doesn’t want to see them fight, or at least not yet.  

“I can tell you what I don’t want to see.  I don’t want to see him (Topuria) fight Sean O’Malley.  I don’t need to see those guys fight just yet because neither of them have defended their championship,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.  

“I don’t know that we should continue to allow for these guys to get a belt and immediately leave the division,” Cormier continued.  “That’s what happened with Islam [Makhachev] and [Alexander] Volkanovski… Islam hadn’t cleared out (the division).  He has two title defenses, both against Volk.  He’s a 45 pounder.  He’s never defended the belt against a lightweight.  But again, that fight with Volk was a credit to Volk for what he had done because he had kind of cleared out his division.  

“I get it in that instance but if we’re talking to Topuria and O’Malley, these are two guys that haven’t fought anyone in that division.  So, I don’t think these guys should fight each other right now.  They’ve got work to do.”  

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Brian Ortega returns from a long layoff due to injury as he steps back in the octagon in a rematch with Yair Rodriguez in the co-main event of UFC Mexico City this Saturday. What are the biggest questions you need answered this weekend in regards to the return of “T-City?”

On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses the five-round bout and what is at stake for Ortega in the matchup. Additionally, listener questions include Merab Dvalishvili getting himself over with the fans without a ton of promotion behind him, the UFC 300 main event between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill and the reaction it has received from the public, Dana White’s relationship with the media and if he seems fully invested in the current UFC product, and much more.

You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces.

If you miss it live, audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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