In October, Francis Ngannou will return to mixed martial arts for the first time in nearly three years.

‘The Predator’, fresh from two high profile matchups in the boxing ring, will make his PFL debut on October 19th next when he fights the 6ft 8in Brazilian Renan Ferreira in a card from Saudi Arabia dubbed ‘Battle of the Giants’.

Ahead of the fight, Ngannou and Ferreira came face-to-face in a pre-fight press conference hosted by another PFL signee, Jake Paul, where the sheer scale of both fighters was on show.

In what was one of his first public appearances since the tragic passing of his young son Kobe earlier this year, an emotional Ngannou made clear that he would be competing in tribute to his 15-month-old son.

“I have questioned if I have to continue or if I should just hang up the gloves,” Ngannou said at the event in Washington. “But then I realised that should be a purpose for me you know.”