PFL heavyweight Renan Ferreira has spoken publicly for the first time since falling to a devastating fate at the hands of Francis Ngannou in Riyadh.
In his return to Saudi Arabia eight months on from a rapid knockout of Ryan Bader at the PFL vs. Bellator event, Ferreira was the one on the wrong end of a quick conclusion in the main event.
The Brazilian headlined this past weekend's Battle of the Giants pay-per-view at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, welcoming Ngannou back to mixed martial arts.
While "Problema" vowed to upset the odds and stall "The Predator's" debut inside the SmartCage, he was quickly taken down and ground-and-pounded into unconsciousness.
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With many seeing the stoppage as late, there was some concern over Ferreira's condition in the immediate aftermath. Fortunately, he returned to his feet for the official result and has since released a statement on social media.
On his Instagram Stories, the 2023 PFL champ admitted to being " a bit broken" by the disappointing result. He did, however, vow to bounce back stronger and thanked his supporters for their backing.
Hey guys, Renan ‘Problema’ here, a bit broken,” Ferreira said in Portuguese. (h/t Danny Segura). “Yesterday wasn’t a good day at work, guys, but I’m very happy with all our dedication and everything that developed through our work. I’ve always had the mindset of never losing, for myself, to fight any lack of dedication and commitment, and thank God I have a clean conscience. I worked very hard there, showed up well to the fight, and was happy to return.
Unfortunately, my opponent was superior. He managed to impose a game where that I couldn’t defend the takedowns, which led to very hard ground-and-pound to get through. And that’s it, life goes on, we’ll be back. I want to thank everyone for all the love and support, we’re always together. Hugs.
While Ferreira looks ahead to his opportunity to return to winning ways next time out, all eyes are on Ngannou and his plans in MMA.
Though his desire to lace the boxing gloves is seemingly far from fulfilled, the Cameroonian's emphatic comeback to the sport in which he made his name has no doubt only increased the fans' appetite for some major matchups in the cage.
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