"Beating any PFL fighter in 1 round lol" - Fans react as Francis Ngannou's next MMA fight is announced

Francis Ngannou has had his first fight inside the PFL Smart Cage announced.

Ryan Bader vs Renan Ferreira goes down this Saturday and pits the Bellator heavyweight champion against the PFL heavyweight titleholder, respectively.

PFL released a clip to their social media that Ngannou would be returning to mixed martial arts to fight the victor of the aforementioned bout. In a reshared clip to X, several combat sports fans had their say on social media.

@TheCultOfBrees said:

"Ngannou is beating any PFL fighter in 1 round lol"

@slipthejabpod stated:

"It’s about damn time. He signed a contract with the PFL, yet hasn’t fought for their organization once yet."

@thatfilmguy76 quipped:

"It’s good to see he’s going back to MMA but let’s hope that he’ll continue with boxing alongside MMA."

@regular_258 said:

"Bro is about to be a boxing heavyweight champion and a mma heavyweight champion 😭"

@MrPIAProgress stated:

"Killing it in boxing. Respect that he is still holding to his contract with PFL"

@ayohbami quipped:

"Renan will be an interesting fight for the 2 minutes it lasts. Will be a nice reminder to the community what Francis can do in 4 ounce gloves."

[Image Courtesy: @SpinninBackfist thread on X]

Check out the clip of PFL announcing the Francis Ngannou MMA return below:

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Francis Ngannou's MMA comeback: What happened in between

Francis Ngannou had his last MMA fight, as of this writing, over two years ago. The mixed martial arts bout transpired on Jan. 22, 2022, as the hulking heavyweight defended his UFC title against Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision at UFC 270.

The 37-year-old would end up leaving the UFC to pursue some of his dreams in free agency that he evidently could not get in a contractual agreement with the UFC.

'The Predator' had aspirations to box, and after signing a unique agreement with PFL, his first test in the sweet science took place last Fall. Ngannou dove into the deep end of the pool as he took on a generational talent in Tyson Fury, who is the WBC as well as lineal heavyweight champion.

The Cameroon native would put on one of the more remarkable performances in the history of combat sports, even dropping 'The Gypsy King' to lose a contentious split decision last October. Ngannou next will do battle under Queensberry Rules on March 9. He takes on another generational heavyweight talent, Anthony Joshua, for what is his sophomore fight in the sport.