PFL Battle of the Giants weigh-in results: Francis Ngannou set for MMA return

Francis Ngannou is one step closer to walking back into the cage.

At Friday’s official weigh-ins for PFL Battle of the Giants, the lineal heavyweight champion successfully hit the mark at 256.8 pounds for his main event clash with 2023 PFL champion Renan Ferreira, who came in slightly heavier at 261.5 pounds. Ngannou and Ferreira battle for the inaugural PFL Superfight heavyweight title.

Watch video of the official weigh-ins above.

Ngannou competes in MMA for the first time since a successful UFC title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. A year after that contest, Ngannou parted ways with the UFC to join the PFL and pursue a career in boxing. He landed high-profile contests against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, losing a razor-close split decision to Fury before being brutally knocked out by Joshua this past March.

All 18 fighters competing on Saturday’s event at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, successfully made weight, including championship bout competitors Cris Cyborg, Larissa Pacheco, Johnny Eblen, and Fabian Edwards.

Cyborg (144.1) and Pacheco (144.5) meet in the co-main event, with a Superfight featherweight title on the line. The legendary Cyborg enters as the reigning Bellator featherweight champion, having not lost a fight since 2018, while Pacheco is coming off of back-to-back PFL tournament wins in 2023 and 2022, the latter at lightweight.

In the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings, Pacheco sits at No. 6, one spot ahead of Cyborg. Like Ngannou, Cyborg has also dabbled in boxing, going 4-0 competing sporadically over the past two years.

For the evening’s third title fight, Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (184.7) was on point for his rematch with Fabian Edwards (184.9).

See official PFL Battle of the Giants weigh-in results below.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)

Francis Ngannou (256.8) vs. Renan Ferreira (261.5)

Larissa Pacheco (144.5) vs. Cris Cyborg (144.1)

Johnny Eblen (184.7) vs. Fabian Edwards (184.9)

Husein Kadimagomaev (146) vs. Zafar Mohsen (145.8)

A.J. McKee (155.8) vs. Paul Hughes (155.8)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. ET)

Raufeon Stots (135.8) vs. Marcos Breno (136)

Makkasharip Zaynukov (153.6) vs. Dedrek Sanders (154.9)

Ibragim Ibragimov (145.5) vs. Nacho Campos (145.9)

Tariq Ismail (145.1) vs. Taha Bendaoud (145.5)