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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Tom Aspinall has a lot of respect for Francis Ngannou.

This Saturday, Ngannou makes his long-awaited return to MMA when he faces Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants. It will be Ngannou’s first MMA fight since 2022 when he successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in his final fight with the promotion. Since then, Aspinall has made quite the impression on the UFC’s heavyweight division, winning the interim heavyweight belt and then defending his interim title back in July.

Currently, Aspinall hopes to finally have a title unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones after Jones defends his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, but with Ngannou’s return to the sport, fans are now also interested in how a hypothetical fight between he and Aspinall might look. And addressing that question on his YouTube channel recently, Aspinall believes it’s close.

“That’s a good fight! That’s a great fight,” Aspinall said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Francis. I love his story, love what he’s all about. I think it’s a 50/50 fight, to be honest. Francis is a scary man. But I think technically I would take the edge. But I think that’s a great fight.”

Of course it’s exceedingly unlikely Aspinall and Ngannou will ever meet in the cage as the UFC almost never agrees to co-promote fights. However, there is a different superfight Aspinall might be able to get if Ngannou or a unified heavyweight title fight doesn’t manifest: light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“Poatan” has been teasing a move up to heavyweight this year and if he finally does decided to make the jump, Aspinall is more than happy to welcome him in a champ vs. champ fight.

“I like the idea of that,” Aspinall said. “It’s up to Alex. He’s doing massive things at light heavyweight, he’s obviously done massive things at middleweight as well. So that’s completely up to him. If he wants to come and test the waters at heavyweight, sign me up. I’m up for it.”

Whether or not that will happen is still up in the air, but for the time being, Aspinall is simply waiting. The interim champion is set to serve as the backup fighter for the Jones vs. Miocic fight at UFC 309 next month and revealed that plans are already in motion for what comes next if his services are not needed then.

“I’m just training to be the backup fighter right now,” Aspinall said. “I’m getting myself fight. Do I think it’s going to happen? Probably not. But I’ll be ready for it if it does. And we just spoke to the UFC, we’ve got some plans in place. I can’t reveal them right now because they’re top secret but there is big news coming soon.”

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Kai Kara-France recently condemned the UFC’s decision to grant a title shot to Kai Asakura in his promotional debut.

It’s a rare occurrence for a fighter to step into the Octagon for their first fight in a title bout, yet that’s precisely the path Asakura will take as he is set to challenge reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event of UFC 310. This exciting matchup is set to take place on December 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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A post shared by 朝倉 海 Kai Asakura (@kai_asakura_)

However, Kara-France, who was campaigning for a title shot himself after his first-round knockout victory over Steve Erceg at UFC 305, voiced his disapproval of Asakura receiving an immediate opportunity to fight for the belt.

During a recent interview with Sky Sport NZ, “Don’t Blink” stated that the 31-year-old Japanese fighter did not deserve a shot at UFC gold. He expressed that it feels unjust for dedicated fighters in the 125-pound category, who have put in the hard work to rise through the ranks, to be overlooked for a title shot.

“They’ve got the wrong Kai,” Kara-France said. “After my fight, I was calling for the title shot, and I was thinking, ‘Sweet, I’ve got it,’ and then I heard they’re bringing in a guy from Japan, and his name’s Kai. Bro, he hasn’t even fought yet. I don’t think he deserves it. You’ve got to at least show your worth or do something for guys who have been grinding for years in the UFC division, fighting the best guys.

We’ve proven that we belong here, so I don’t know. That’s just how I feel about it. It’s weird that you can come in off no fights in the UFC and get a title shot. Hey, but if it’s going to bring in more attention to the flyweight division, you know, a bit of controversy, if this guy deserves it, yeah, he can go out there and prove it.”

Kara-France challenged for the interim flyweight title against former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 in July 2022 but fell short, suffering a third-round TKO. The 31-year-old Kiwi has been a fixture in the UFC since 2018, compiling a respectable 8-4 record.

After signing an exclusive deal with the UFC, Asakura vacated his two-time RIZIN bantamweight championship, where he was a standout for nearly six years. He compiled an impressive record of 13-3 in the promotion, securing victories over notable opponents like Kyoji Horiguchi, Juan Archuleta, and Manel Kape.

• Read More: Brandon Royval Sees ‘Strong Possibility’ UFC Newcomer Could Beat Alexandre Pantoja

Continue Reading Kai Kara-France Slams UFC For Awarding Title Shot To Newcomer Asakura at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA Fighting has PFL Battle of the Giants results for the Ngannou vs. Ferreira fight card, live blogs of the top three fights, and more from The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday afternoon.

In the main event, former UFC champion Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira will sqaure off the PFL Superfight heavyweight championship. Ngannou will make his PFL debut at the event after he suffered two losses in a row in boxing.

Larissa Pacheco and Cris Cyborg will compete for the PFL Superfight bantamweight championship in the co-main event.

Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen will defend his title against Fabian Edwards also on the main card.

Check out PFL Battle of the Giants results below.

Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 4 p.m. ET)

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards

Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen

A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes

Prelims (ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. ET)

Raufeon Stots vs. Marcos Breno

Dedrek Sanders vs. Makkasharip Zaynukov

Ibragim Ibragimov vs. Nacho Campos

Tariq Ismail vs. Taha Bendaoud

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sage Northcutt and ONE Championship have parted ways.

On Friday, ONE Championship announced Northcutt and the promotion mutually agreed to his release from the organization. Per ONE’s statement on its website the promotion “wishes Northcutt the best in his future endeavors” but made no further comment on the release.

Northcutt also responded to his release on Friday, posting a positive message on social media looking ahead to 2025.

“Excited for 2025 and looking forward to having some big fights!”

Northcutt came to prominence in the UFC before signing with ONE Championship in 2019. However, Northcutt’s time with ONE has been tumultuous, fighting just twice in the promotion. Northcutt lost his debut in 2019 and then was scheduled to fight Shinya Aoki in 2021 before withdrawing due to COVID complications. He finally got back in the cage in 2023, submitting Ahmed Mujtaba with a first-round heel hook.

Most recently, Northcutt was against scheduled to face Aoki in January of this year at ONE 165, but withdrew from the bout on fight day as his cornermen were denied visas. This incident created some tension between Northcutt and ONE as both parties disputed exactly what happened.

Still just 28 years old, Northcutt could be a coveted individual on the free-agent market. His overall MMA record stands at 12-3.

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Fighter Of The Year
| BJPenn.com

Francis Ngannou is one of the strongest heavyweights to ever compete in mixed martial arts (MMA) so it’s not surprising to see him break the record on the grip strength test.

This new grip strength test has been making the rounds in MMA and was last seen at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Main event title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. produced the strongest grip from the card’s long list of veteran fighters. Little did Rountree Jr. know that his record would be smashed by Ngannou just a few weeks later.

Ngannou is in Saudi Arabia this week as he makes his official PFL debut and long-awaited return to MMA. Remember, the former UFC heavyweight champion has competed in two boxing matches over the past 12 months. “Predator” lost both, but he’s made a ton of cash along the way. He’ll look to bring the fight back to the cage this weekend against PFL heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira.

While in town, Ngannou was asked to take a shot at the grip strength test and see how powerful he truly is. In case you forgot, Ngannou once shattered the record for the hardest punch ever recorded. When it comes to his grip the former UFC king is just as strong. Ngannou’s results were good enough to beat Rountree Jr. by double digits.

Check it out below:

Ngannou, who turned 38 last month, is hoping to live up to his lucrative PFL contract and help the promotion close the gap with UFC. Ferreira has been a serviceable heavyweight with a ton of potential, but “Predator” is the biggest star on the roster and someone that must perform this weekend in Saudi Arabia.

For all the latest “Battle of the Giants” news and notes click here.

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