Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira are giants, even for heavyweights. That is why their PFL clash tonight has been appropriately christened ‘Battle of the Giants’. The duo, of course, will headline the pay-per-view card that will see ‘The Predator’ make his promotional debut against the 2023 PFL heavyweight champion.

And what a fantastic matchup it is. Both men are veritable knockout artists and hold concussive power in their hands. That is why their bout is expected to be full of fireworks and end in a knockout. Given their size, it is natural for fans to wonder how much these titans weigh when not preparing for a fight.

Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira’s walk-around weight

Francis Ngannou weighed in just a shade under 257 pounds, while Ferreira is coming into their much-awaited main event bout at an impressive 261.5 pounds. The heavyweight limit, of course, is 265 pounds and both heavyweights weighed in well under that benchmark.

And while most heavyweights in the world have no issues making weight, or even have to cut from their walk-around weight for fights, that was not the case for Francis Ngannou. The former UFC heavyweight champion, of course, was injured for most of last year and the latter part of 2022.

During that time, due to being unable to train, the Cameroonian’s weight ballooned up to over 293 pounds, more than thirty pounds over the weight he likes to fight at. “A lot more than I used to weigh, but it’s been six months since I last fought… Not [300], 293lb,” Ngannou would tell UFC superstar Justin Gaethje in August 2022.

And since Renan Ferreira has a similar fighting weight to Ngannou, it is likely that the 6’8″ Brazilian walks around in the neighborhood of 270-290 pounds when not in camp. But this is just an estimate since no concrete information about Ferreira’s walk-around weight is available.

Francis Ngannou unveils tattoo of late son’s name at weigh-ins for Renan Ferreira clash

Along with making weight and indulging in a heated face-off, there was another significant thing that stood out at their weigh-ins. The former UFC star it turns out has a fresh tattoo, and one that has great sentimental value for Francis Ngannou. When he took off his shirt, eagle-eyed fans spotted ‘The Predator’ had the word ‘Kobe’ tattooed on his left bicep.

Kobe, of course, was the name of ‘The Predator’s firstborn son, who tragically passed away this April due to a previously undiagnosed brain malformation. He was just fifteen months old at the time. And his death, it hardly needs to be said, was devastating for the Cameroonian. Especially because it came out of seemingly nowhere.

While it may have broken lesser men, not so for Ngannou, whose whole life has been him overcoming overwhelming circumstances and odds that would be insurmountable for most mortals. So instead of quitting his fighting career or even taking a break from competing, ‘The Predator’ has decided that the rest of his combat career will be a tribute to his late son. What are your predictions for Ngannou-Ferreira?