By Francis Ngannou’s standards, the fight was practically a marathon.
After nearly three years away from MMA, the lineal heavyweight champ must have been feeling rusty. He needed all of three minutes and 32 seconds to finish off Renan Ferreira in the main event of Saturday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants event. But oh well. He could probably use the extra cage time. Especially if he plans to get back into MMA as a full-time gig.
With PFL’s latest attempt at pay-per-view now in the books, let’s sift through the rubble for the key takeaways from Saturday’s event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
1. He might dabble in boxing, but Ngannou belongs in MMA
After two very lucrative losses as a pro boxer, Ngannou really needed a win in the cage to remind us how he became a star in the first place. His easy takedown on Ferreira, followed by some absolutely brutal ground-and-pound, offered just such a reminder.
Look, no one can say Ngannou’s foray into the ring was a mistake. He exceeded expectations against Tyson Fury, then got slammed back down to earth by Anthony Joshua. He also made a bunch of money and checked some items off the bucket list. I don’t doubt he’d consider doing it again for the right price, but his odds of winning fights are going to be much higher in MMA, where he can use the full range of a toolbox that now clearly has more than just punching power as an option.
2. Finding opponents who can actually give Big Fran a meaningful test is going to be a problem for PFL
It’s a simple fact that if you start to make a list of the world’s top heavyweights, you’re mostly going to end up naming dudes who are under contract with the UFC. Ngannou walked away as champ without ever losing the UFC belt. He still holds the purely hypothetical but absolutely meaningful title of lineal heavyweight champion. The problem with that pedigree is that it leaves him with very few potential opponents who wouldn’t seem like a waste of time.
Where is PFL going to find them? One option is to try to grow them in-house. That’s what the whole season format should be good for. But just because you produce a winner, it doesn’t mean people will take him seriously as a challenger for the baddest man on the planet.
The other option is to get out the checkbook and go hunting for a free agent. Even then, you’d need to get the right timing for the right person to fight out his UFC deal and hit the market. Ngannou doesn’t fight cheap, so PFL needs to make the most of it when he does put on the little gloves. I just don’t see too many fans ponying up for endless pay-per-views of Ngannou vs. TBD.
3. Cris Cyborg is nothing short of an MMA legend
With her unanimous decision victory over Larissa Pacheco, Cyborg has now won titles in:
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UFC
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PFL
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Invicta
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Bellator
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Strikeforce
In other words, basically everywhere. Name a major fight promotion that had any sort of women’s division, and Cyborg has been champ there. It’s such an incredible accomplishment that it threatens to overshadow how rare it is to see any fighter, man or woman, still be this good nearly 20 years into a pro career.
When Cyborg started out back in 2005, there was barely such thing as women’s MMA. Certainly the UFC was nowhere close to embracing it yet. Cyborg rose quickly to the top of the sport and then just set up camp there. Who does that? No one. Not in MMA. At least, not until now.
4. Anyone worried that Paul Hughes wasn’t ready for this level can stop worrying now
Hughes came in to this fight riding the first rumbling hints of something like hype. Maybe people had heard his name. Maybe they’d even seen one of his last couple fights. Maybe they knew nothing except: Here comes another Irish fighter who the Irish fans are excited about.
A.J. McKee represented a huge step up in competition. This is a guy who has basically only lost to Patricio Pitbull, a man who had several years there where he could very convincingly claim to be the best fighter in the world.
Hughes never looked out of place or in over his head. If he had another 10 seconds to work at the end of the first round, he might have put McKee away. Instead he gutted out a close decision win and instantly put himself on the map.
5. Johnny Eblen continues to be undefeated yet uninspiring
Eblen dominated the fight with Fabian Edwards, so I’m not sure how the scorecards ended up reading 48-47. Still, I can’t tell you it was a whole lot of fun to watch.
I guess when you’re 16-0, you figure that you’ll dance with who brung you and do whatever it takes to keep the record spotless. I can’t hate on it. I also wouldn’t sit through it again if you paid me.