In his return to mixed martial arts this weekend, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou could be set to show new wrinkles in his game.
Saturday marks a big night for "The Predator," as he enters the cage for an MMA fight for the first time since a successful UFC title defense against Ciryl Gane back in January 2022.
After departing MMA's leading promotion and completing two bouts in the ring opposite boxing stars Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, Ngannou will put his sights back on the sport in which he made his name to make a long-awaited PFL debut.
The Cameroonian is slated to headline the upcoming pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia against 2023 PFL heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira. Given the Brazilian's penchant for knockouts, which is more than shared by "The Predator," most are expecting Ngannou's return to the cage to conclude with a knockout.
But during an appearance on Monday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, the ex-UFC champ suggested that is far from certain, with both a decision and a surprise submission on the table.
When it comes to the latter of those endings, the 38-year-old Batié native said he could have some "tricks" up his sleeve come fight night.
He moves a lot and he has good grappling. I mean, he is a black belt," Ngannou said. "Unless the fight goes longer — if the fight goes past two rounds, I think it's likely going to end up (being) a decision. Otherwise, if it stays inside two rounds, I think it's a knockout or why not a submission?
You know, I'm not a black belt, but I'm not bad too," Ngannou continued. "I've been working on some little tricks.
Be it a KO, submission or hard-fought victory on the scorecards, Ngannou will hope to emerge from the Middle East with a better result than in his last trip to Riyadh, which saw him rendered unconscious by "AJ."