Josh Thomson explains why Francis Ngannou will likely try and “wrestle” PFL knockout-artist Renan Ferreira

Josh Thomson is explaining why Francis Ngannou will likely try and ‘wrestle’ PFL knockout-artist Renan Ferreira.

Ngannou (17-3 MMA), the former UFC heavyweight champion, hasn’t competed in the MMA since defeating Ciryl Gane (12-2 MMA) by unanimous decision back in January of 2022 at UFC 270.

The Cameroonian parted ways with the UFC after being unable to come to contract terms and subsequently signed on with the PFL (Professional Fighters League).

While he has yet to compete under the PFL Banner, Francis Ngannou did get into the ring with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last October. Although losing to Fury, ‘The Predator’ displayed a competitive performance in his boxing debut.

Ngannou is now scheduled to fight former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a 10-round bout on Friday, March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Also on the ticket for 2024 is Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA under the PFL banner and it’s looking likely that his first bout will come against Renan Ferreira (13-3 MMA). The highly acclaimed ‘Problema’ is sporting 4 victories in a row (all by knockout).

It was during a recent episode of his ‘Weighing In’ podcast with John McCarthy, that former Bellator analyst Josh Thomson, spoke about the potential of a Ferreira vs. Ngannou match-up in MMA:

“Ryan Bader’s a friend of mine… That being said, from a promotional standpoint, the better fight for them (PFL) to market would be Renan Ferreira vs. Francis Ngannou. It looks better on paper. But what’s gonna happen, though, is Francis turning into a wrestler.”

Continuing Thomson said (h/t MMANews):

“On paper, it looks good. ‘You have a stand-up knockout artist in Renan Ferreira! You got another stand-up knockout artist in Francis Ngannou!’ But Francis will wrestle. You saw it with Ciryl Gane and I think you’re gonna see it again in this fight if they do fight — when they do fight. You’re gonna see Francis use all the tools. That’s the point of MMA, so I’m not knocking him. I’m just simply saying, he is going to get the takedown. He will control this fight from the ground, top position.”

Will you be watching the Ngannou vs. Joshua bout? Are you looking forward to seeing the 37-year-old back in the MMA cage?

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