On Saturday night, Francis Ngannou fights under mixed martial arts rules for the first time in almost three years.

‘The Predator,’ a former UFC heavyweight champion, has more recently been concentrating on boxing following two high-profile (and incredibly lucrative) bouts against two of the best heavyweights of this generation in Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Tomorrow in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Cameroonian fighter returns to the sport in which he made his name as he makes his PFL debut atop the organisation’s historic card in the Middle East against the giant Brazilian Renan Ferreira.

The two fighters, along with the rest of the competitors from the stacked card — which includes Ireland’s Paul Hughes attempting to become just the second fighter to defeat Bellator veteran AJ McKee — got a closer look at one another on Thursday.

While no official figures have been released, Forbes has indicates that Ngannou is expected to receive a purse of around $10 million for his MMA return, while Ferreira is expected to earn around $2 million after Ngannou negotiated a clause in his contract guaranteeing a high degree of minimum payment for his opponents.

The bout is Ngannou’s first in the cage since a January 2022 unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane in defence of his UFC heavyweight title. He left the organisation several months later following the expiration of his contract.