Francis Ngannou has shared an ominous message on his social media ahead of his clash against Renan Ferreira this weekend. The pair are set to headline the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants card on Oct. 19 and will fight it out for the inaugural PFL Heavyweight Superfight title.
The bout also marks Ngannou's first taste of MMA action for over two years, last time out defeating Ciryl Gane under the UFC banner in January 2022. 'The Predator' then opted not to sign a new deal with the promotion, later signing a record-breaking deal with the PFL before stepping into the world of boxing.
Ngannou then went on to face two of boxing's biggest stars back-to-back, going the distance against Tyson Fury and suffering a devasting KO loss at the hands of Anthony Joshua earlier this year. The manner of his defeat against 'AJ' has caused some concern amongst fans, as Renan Ferreira has been on a tear over the last year.
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'Problema' is PFL heavyweight 2023 tournament winner and has won his last four fights in a row. All four of those wins have come via knockouts and 12 of his 13 wins as a professional have been finishes.
Despite the tough task ahead, however, Francis Ngannou appears as though he's ready to go war. Taking to Instagram ahead of the bout, the Cameroonian shared an ominous post, suggesting he's ready to put it all on the line once again. He captioned the post:
"IMPACT in a few hours... #BattleOfTheGiants"
Dan Hardy compares Francis Ngannou to Brock Lesnar
Dan Hardy recently offered his take on Francis Ngannou's presence as an MMA star, comparing him to former UFC and WWE champion Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar is considered by many to be one of the most genetically gifted athletes ever to have stepped into the octagon and the squared circle. Due to his sheer size and power, Lesnar's aura has often left people feeling intimidated.
Hardy then echoed that same sentiment when discussing Ngannou on a recent episode of The Craic on YouTube. He said:
"[Ngannou's] got this presence that I can't think of anybody else, maybe Brock Lesnar. He might be the only other person that I can think of that's got this same kind of terrifying presence...And Francis is the same. There's something quite regal about him...[Ngannou] just carries that kind of royalty, energy so well. And everybody as soon as he walks in the room as you can imagine, he draws everyone's attention." [8:06 - 8:46]
Check out Dan Hardy's comments below (8:05):