Francis Ngannou dispatched Renan Ferreira in the opening stanza with some vicious ground and pound in Saudi Arabia.
‘The Predator’ is now the inaugural PFL Super Fight heavyweight champion and remains the lineal king of the glamour division.
Ngannou hadn’t stepped foot inside the cage since defending the UFC heavyweight strap against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.
But he didn’t look like a fighter that had been out of action for that long on Saturday night.
The Cameroonian cage fighter had promised to bring his full arsenal of skills to the table in his return to MMA and proceeded to dump Ferreira on his back in the opening stanza.
Ferreira threatened with submissions from the bottom but Ngannou defended them well before closing the show with some heavy ground and pound that left the Brazilian laid flat out on his face.
Ngannou has been through a serious ordeal this year, laying his 15-month-old son, Kobe, to rest in May.
And the African powerhouse was overcome by emotion as the referee stepped in and waved off the fight.
“I can’t think about anything other than my son Kobe,” said Ngannou as he broke down in tears.
“I did this fight for him and I’m done so I don’t know.
“I hope they can remember his name because without Kobe I wouldn’t be here tonight.
“Thank you for Saudi Arabia, thank you for Riyadh for being a great host. The people are very lovely, I think today I have a fan base in Saudi and in Riyadh I have what I can call a family…
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“It was tough [fighting tonight]. Not only the training camp was tough, but the past two days were very tough and full of emotion.
“I couldn’t do anything without thinking about it. I’m trying to be strong but it’s hard man…
“I knew I hadn’t missed a step, as soon as I walked in the MMA gym, I knew everything was there.
“It was just about me being able to manage my emotions and deal with life separately.
“Thank you to my team, some of them have been away from their families for over two months to support me with my crazy dream which has no limits.”
Asked what will come next for him, Ngannou replied: “My next move in combat sports all depends on how I feel and how I deal with my life right now.
“I have always thought I have a lot to give to combat sports and hopefully I keep thinking that way.”
