Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira full results: Ngannou wins by brutal KO at PFL Battle of the Giants

Francis Ngannou needed a little over a minute to get Renan Ferreira to the ground. He needed just a few more minutes to put the Brazilian to sleep.

Fighting in MMA for the first time since January 2022, the former UFC heavyweight champion smashed through 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on Saturday, earning a first-round knockout in the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It was an emotional win for Ngannou, who lost his 15-month-old son to a rare disease in April, just 50 days after suffering a brutal knockout loss to Anthony Joshua. But Saturday proved to be his return to the top of the sport he dominated for many years. After trading early leg kicks, Ngannou scored a takedown, fended off a triangle attempt, then unloaded with a barrage of unanswered punches from top control, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to step in and save an unconscious Ferreira at the 3:32 mark of Round 1.

"I can't just think about anything than my son Kobe, I only took this fight because of him," Ngannou said post-fight through tears.

"I knew I didn't miss a step [in MMA]. I wasn't worried about it, because as soon as I walked in the gym for MMA, I knew that everything was still there. It was just about me being able to manage my emotions."

In the co-main event, MMA legend Cris Cyborg (28-2, 1 NC) continued her dominance with yet another title win in yet another MMA promotion. Cyborg earned a unanimous decision win over two-time PFL tournament champion Larissa Pacheco (23-5) to win the PFL women’s featherweight super fights title.

Pacheco didn’t make it easy for Cyborg, however, and opened up cuts above both of her eyes with some damaging blows early in the fight and continued to add to the damage with hard punches throughout, including in a dominant third round. Despite the ensuing blood clouding her vision, Cyborg’s relentless attack coupled with timely takedowns and bullying blitzes gave her the clear advantage throughout the five rounds. She outstruck Pacheco by a margin of 108-91 in total strikes and landed four of her five takedowns, spending long swathes of the bout working her ground-and-pound from top position. In the end, the judges unanimously scored the bout 49-46 in Cyborg's favor, though the deceptively one-sided scorecards fail to properly tell the story of what was a competitive, back-and-forth bout.

Cyborg has now won title belts with Strikeforce, Bellator, Invicta, UFC and the PFL. At 39 years old, her long reign at the top of the sport may be nearing the finish line, but Cyborg's legacy as one of MMA’s best female fighters can no longer be questioned.

"I'm really happy," Cyborg said, "and I have two more fights, I'm going to defend this title. Let's go."

Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (16-0) once again dispatched Fabian Edwards (13-4) to notch the third defense of his belt in the night's final championship bout.

Less than 13 months after Eblen knocked out Edwards with a third-round barrage under the Bellator banner, the champ used a steady diet of takedowns and forward pressure to keep Edwards on his back foot and secure a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) on the scorecards. Edwards mounted a late charge, connecting with volume as he poured on desperation offense in the final minutes, but Eblen weathered it all and ultimately earned his 12th victory under the PFL/Bellator umbrella.

"I kind of faded a little bit," Eblen admitted. "It's a seven-hour time difference from where I'm at, south Florida, so I had to come out about 10 days early. I think I need to come out a little earlier.

"Fabian's a top-level guy. He's one of the best in the world. It was really great to be facing him again."

In the opening bout of the main card, Irish up-and-comer Paul Hughes (13-1) proved he may already belong among the world's elite lightweights by upsetting former Bellator champion AJ McKee (22-2) with a hard-fought split decision. Hughes took control early, dropping McKee with a nasty right hook to the chin in the closing seconds of Round 1. McKee rebounded by shifting more to his wrestling in the second and third rounds, but Hughes fended off enough of the American's takedowns and landed more effective offense to secure the judges' nod (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) and seize the biggest win of his young career.

Afterward, Hughes called out undefeated Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, who most recently defended his belt with a decision over Alexander Shabliy in September.

Check out complete PFL Battle of the Giants: Ngannou vs. Ferreira results here, or relive the action with all the highlights on Uncrowned's Ngannou vs. Ferreira pay-per-view live blog below.

Here's how all the action unfolded:

Ngannou vs. Ferreira main card results

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou def. Renan Ferreira by KO (ground and pound) at 3:32 of R1

Featherweight: Cris Cyborg def. Larissa Pacheco by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Middleweight: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Featherweight: Zafar Mohsen def. Husein Kadimagomaev by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Lightweight: Paul Hughes def. A.J. McKee by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Ngannou vs. Ferreira preliminary card full results

Bantamweight: Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno via submission:

Lightweight: Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Dedrek Sanders via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Featherweight: Ibragim Ibragimov def. Nacho Campos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Featherweight: Taha Bendaoud def. Youssef Al Housani via submission (triangle choke) at 3:51 of Round 2