Francis Ngannou defeats Renan Ferreira with late first-round knockout in PFL

Francis Ngannou defeated Renan Ferreira by knockout late in the first round, though the exact details of the finish remain unclear due to Netflix's lack of a quality replay showing whether an uppercut landed cleanly. Alternative fan-recorded footage from a different angle also doesn't definitively show the connection. What is clear is that Ngannou's left hand strike dropped Ferreira, who fell looking completely disoriented. Ferreira, who was never considered even near-elite competition, weighed in at only 100 kg (220 lbs), giving Ngannou an unprecedented 16 kg (35 lbs) weight advantage—the largest weight difference of his career. While it took Ngannou nearly the entire first round to finish Ferreira (compared to faster knockouts of more dangerous opponents), this was largely due to clinch grappling exchanges and ground positions where Ferreira tried to survive. Every striking exchange ended badly for Ferreira with heavy shots landed. The post concludes that Ngannou looked solid both visually and as a fighter, making it even more disappointing that his planned bout with Vadim Nemkov never materialized.