Renan Ferreira is focused on claiming the inaugural PFL heavyweight championship when he faces Vadim Nemkov this Saturday at PFL Lyon in France, and he hopes it leads to a rematch with Francis Ngannou.
“Problema” lost by knockout to Ngannou for the “Super Fights” title in October 2024, and laments the mistakes he made when he faced off with the former UFC champion in Saudi Arabia.
“I was in a really good place for that fight, one of the best camps I’ve ever had,” Ferreira told MMA Fighting. “I trained
really well, both physically and technically. You can see he didn’t even want to strike with me, he went another direction right away, which was a surprise. I knew he could do that. I made some mistakes there, but I’ve fixed all of it and I hope to get that rematch as soon as possible so I can show a different game and get that win.”
Ferreira won’t overlook Nemkov, an ex-Bellator light heavyweight titleholder who enters PFL Lyon undefeated for nearly a decade, including two stoppage wins at heavyweight. He admits, however, that getting one back from Ngannou is a goal of his.
“Right now I’m very focused on this moment, on this fight with Nemkov,” Ferreira said. “Which is a very important fight for me, a fight that can really establish me, a very tough fight. For the moment, my focus is here, but I wouldn’t stop me from thinking about this rematch.”
Ngannou also hasn’t fought since the night he beat Ferreira, who was his first opponent under the PFL banner following a pair of high-profile boxing matches versus Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Despite the uncertainty regarding his future and whether or not Ngannou will return to face the winner of Ferreira vs. Nemkov, the Brazilian expects him to be back in 2026.
“He’s an athlete, he likes to compete, he likes challenges, so I think we’ll probably see him back in action next year,” Ferreira said. “And I really hope it’s against me.”
Ferreira is focused on Nemkov for now, though, and expects his size to give his opponent trouble inside the cage.
“I’m a very big guy, a very heavy guy,” Ferreira said. “There’s also my speed, my ability to move well, throw fast punches on the exit, land heavy shots, so it’s definitely a chess match for him too.”
“He’s going to be a fast guy, someone coming up from 205, so we have to prepare differently for this fight,” he continued. “When a guy moves up from 205, the adaptation is different, doing everything he’s used to doing but with more mass and body weight. But he’s shown he’s adapting really well to the division and already has good wins. I see him bringing a lot of movement, fast strikes, and those single-leg takedowns he likes, plus that cage-pressure style.”
Along with Ngannou’s duties as a fighter, “The Predator” made sure to include in his PFL contract the creation of PFL Africa, with him sitting as chairman. He wasn’t in attendance for the first PFL Africa event earlier this year, though, which left PFL chairman Donn Davis “disappointed.”
“I think he should be a little more present because that’s a huge opportunity for the people from there, who haven’t had much exposure,” Ferreira said. “It’s a chance to open doors for them. I think they need to give that a bit more attention. Of course, we all have a thousand things to take care of, but it’s worth taking some time to think about the ones who are coming up. Sometimes, for someone in his position, just a click can create many opportunities. Just having him there already brings credibility and opens many doors for those on the rise.”
