On Saturday night, MMA legend Francis Ngannou will make his long-awaited return to the cage for his PFL debut in Saudi Arabia.
The 38-year-old – whose last MMA bout was back in January 2022 – will take on fellow heavyweight Renan Ferreira inside the SmartCage as part of PFL’s ‘Battle of the Giants’ event in Riyadh.
Since his last victory in the UFC over two years ago, Ngannou has embarked on a journey which saw him make brief foray into boxing, sign with the PFL and earn roughly £23m ($30m) along the way.
Now, he is finally set to return to MMA and will do so at PFL’s star-studded event where he faces the 2023 PFL heavyweight champion, who has won his last four fights by way of knockout.
Despite his lengthy spell away from the cage, Ngannou insisted he’s excited to make his return and to take on the ‘Walk of the Dead’ on Saturday night.
Francis Ngannou spoke with Mail Sport ahead of his highly-anticipated PFL debut on Saturday
The former UFC champion takes on Renan Ferreira (right) at ‘Battle of the Giants’ in Riyadh
Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport in Riyadh, Ngannou said: ‘I’m excited, very excited. At the same time, [there are] little issues, you know? I haven’t done that walk – we call it the ‘Walk of the Dead’ – in over two years.
‘So, thinking about that aisle, like when you walk into the locker room, you leave the locker room, walk straight to get in the octagon. That moment… wow.
‘It feels like going home after not being home for a while. So you don’t know what you’re going to meet along the way’.
Though Ngannou swapped his MMA gloves for boxing gloves in recent years, the Cameroonian insists that the transition back to mixed martial arts will be easy.
When asked if his technique may have changed due to his boxing experience, he said: ‘No, absolutely not. It’s two different sports. You have to to get this in your mind’.
After his super-fight with British star Joshua, Ngannou admitted in his press conference that he felt something was off. He also revealed he was almost ‘falling asleep’ just before the fight.
However, this time round, the 38-year-old sees no issues with his preparations.
Reflecting on his fight with Joshua, Ngannou said: ‘It was the organization. The whole week, something was off.
The Cameroonian will be making the ‘Walk of the Dead’ for the first time in over two years
His most recent fight saw him suffer a KO defeat to British star Anthony Joshua in boxing
Prior to that, he battled against Tyson Fury in a fight that went down to the judges’ scoring
‘The schedule was off, everything. This time around, I’m not going to have worry about that’.
Earlier in the month, Ngannou when sat down with Mail Sport, while he insisted he’s focused on the fight against Ferreira, the Cameroonian also offered his thoughts on Dubois’ sensational fifth-round knock-out victory against Joshua.
‘Dubois is a very tough opponent,’ Ngannou said. ‘I think for years they’ve been talking about him like an upcoming guy in the heavyweight division. His last fight [against Joshua], he proved it.
‘So yes, it would be a tough fight, a very tough fight,’ he added, speaking about a potential matchup between himself and Dubois.
‘But again, no fight is not doable, because nobody believed he was going to take Joshua out.’
Joshua’s last victory came against Ngannou back in March, with the Brit securing a devastating second-round knock-out victory against the MMA star.
And Ngannou has also offered his opinion on whether Joshua should retire.
Speaking to Mail Sport earlier this month, Ngannou also offered his opinion on whether Joshua should retire after his defeat to Daniel Dubois
‘That’s his decision,’ he told this masthead. ‘He’s the only one who can make that decision.
‘If he feels like it can continue. He continues. He feels like he doesn’t have that motivation or that focus anymore, then maybe he should retire.
‘But only he knows exactly what to do because he’s still young. I mean, he has some years in front of him before he’s really getting there.
‘But again, it’s up to him.’
