Francis Ngannou makes his long-awaited return to MMA and Professional Fighters League debut in a heavyweight championship bout against Renan Ferreira.

Ngannou traded in the four-ounce gloves for a much larger pair as he pursued a career in boxing. A split-decision loss to Tyson Fury earned respect, but he followed it up with a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua.

None of that should take away from the fact that Ngannou has proven himself to be the most fearsome striker in the heavyweight division when it comes to MMA. Ngannou took his hiatus from the sport on the heels of a six-fight wins streak that included a title defense against Ciryl Gane before his UFC contract expired.

Ngannou then hit free agency and landed with PFL who allowed him to pursue boxing until he was ready to come back to the sport that made him a star. Now, he'll get a chance to challenge their current heavyweight champion in Ferreira.

Here's a look at all the details you'll need to catch the fight, the latest odds and a prediction for the bout.

Fight Info, Odds and Prediction

When: Saturday, October 19 at 4 p.m. ET (main event ringwalk approximately 7 p.m. ET)

Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Live Stream: DAZN or ESPN+ PPV

Tickets: Vivid Seats

Odds: Ngannou -245 ($245 bet wins $100); Renan Ferrira +200 ($100 wager wins $200

Prediction: Ngannou via second-round TKO

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Preview

PFL is billing this fight as the Battle of the Giants and it's certainly appropriate. Ngannou is a massive heavyweight and he'll be the smaller man against the 6'8" Ferreira.

Those who haven't followed PFL might not be familiar with Ferreira, but he's certainly made a name for himself within the promotion. The 34-year-old has been ridiculously active with 11 fights since 2021, including three consecutive wins in 2023 to win the PFL heavyweight tournament and become champion.

That success rolled into 2024 with the Brazilian needing just 21 seconds to knockout Ryan Bader on a special PFL vs. Bellator card in February.

Now "Problema" will attempt to apply his power against one of the greatest power punchers of all time in Ngannou.

For Ngannou, this fight comes down to the question of mentality and ring rust.

Ngannou just took on two of the biggest stars in boxing. The fight against Tyson Fury had to do wonders for his confidence as he gave a former champion all he could handle in a 12-round fight.

The follow up against Anthony Joshua is the kind of thing that could really have an impact on a fighter. Joshua landed a devastating knockout blow and he's never been knocked out in MMA.

They are two different sports, but it will be interesting to see if there's any level of hesitation that Ngannou hasn't typically shown before.

The other interesting subplot to watch will be how Ngannou deals with Ferreira's length. The 6'8" champion has an 85" reach which could be used to land the first and more effective power punches.

The truth is that Ngannou is a good enough striker that shouldn't matter, though. He was clearly outclassed by Anthony Joshua in a pure boxing fight, but Ngannou's MMA boxing is elite.

Ngannou might come out a bit tentative and take a little longer to get his reads but once he does, he should put Ferreira to sleep.