Francis Ngannou truly marked a spectacular return to MMA by earning an impressive first-round knockout victory over Renan Ferreira. Dubbed the PFL’s Battle of the Giants, the two heavyweights finally clashed at the Smartcage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After months of preparation, Ngannou took no time in proving why he was one of the fiercest heavyweights in the UFC.

Finishing the fight within minutes, Ngannou completely outclassed the Brazilian. Such was his performance that the fight was called off in just three and a half minutes. But did you know that Ngannou was fighting with an injury?

In a backstage interview that Francis Ngannou gave after his fight, ‘The Predator’ was asked about getting nervous or having pre-fight jitters. It was while answering this that the heavyweight revealed he had to visit the doctor due to a rib injury. Not only that, he had almost decided to cancel the fight because of the pain. However, after getting checked, Ngannou received the medical clearance to fight, so he decided to go along with it.

He said, “You know, I think sometimes it’s good to take just one at a time. You know, like somedays are tougher than someone then you just have to tell yourself like, “Deal with this day, and tomorrow you would find out.” I mean, even when I came here in Riyadh, like, I landed on Thursday night. And then on Friday morning, I had a second thought about this fight because my rib was hurting so bad. But we checked in the hospital, and it was nothing. It was just like a pain; it was very painful.”

Francis Ngannou was truly moved after making his much-awaited MMA return. In the post-fight interview, ‘The Predator’ dedicated the win to his late son, Kobe, who passed away earlier this year. He revealed that all he could think about was his late 15-month-old child, and he was the reason behind his taking on the fight. And it truly was a massive return, as the event truly became one of the history books. Such was the hype around it that event cross-sports stars couldn’t help but attend the event.

The star-studded crowd that graced the show

Several notable personalities graced the seats in Saudi Arabia to bear witness to the return of ‘The Predator.’ One of them was multiple-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. It is a well-known fact by now that the ex-Real Madrid star has formed a close friendship with Ngannou and often attends his fights. So when ‘The Predator’ made his return to the Octagon after two years away from it, the Portuguese superstar made sure to be by his side.

Ronaldo wasn’t the only football star in the Smartcage, though. Since Sadio Mane was also in attendance to show his support to the fighters. It surely was interesting to see cross-sports stars visiting to witness the 38-year-old Ngannou, who briefly entered the realm of boxing and battled British stars such as Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. A venture that came right after he abruptly left the UFC due to a disagreement regarding his contract.

Despite being the heavyweight champion, Ngannou decided to quit the UFC and MMA to try his hands in a different sport. But now he has finally returned to MMA! So what’s your take on this ordeal? Let us know in the comments.