PFL v Bellator: Renan Ferreira stops Ryan Bader but Bellator dominate in Saudi Arabia

Renan Ferreira stopped a Bellator clean sweep over PFL’s best fighters by beating Ryan Bader in the champion v champion event in Saudi Arabia.

Bellator were 5-0 ahead on a largely one-sided main card before heavyweight Ferreira’s crushing right hand floored his rival champion inside 21 seconds.

“I am the real problem,” said Ferreira, 34, before calling out Ngannou.

“I am the record breaker, the record setter. Francis, where you at? I’m waiting for you.”

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) were in danger of being steamrolled before the 6ft 8in Ferreira stepped in the cage to deliver Bader, 40, his first defeat at heavyweight.

American lightweight AJ McKee’s expert first-round submission of Clay Collard kicked off the Bellator dominance with middleweight champion Johnny Eblen and welterweight champion Jason Jackson also victorious.

The fight night was the first major MMA event in Saudi Arabia as the region continues to plough money into sport, although the country has long been criticised for using sport to deflect conversation away from its poor human rights record.

Not since the UFC’s acquisition of Japanese outfit Pride in 2007 have the best fighters from two major promotions come together under one roof.

PFL has decided to lean into the rivalry with cards specifically designed to pit their best fighters against Bellator’s.

The event, the first major MMA show in Saudi Arabia, was billed as the PFL’s biggest ever and a giant step forward for an MMA world often entrenched in tribalism, with promotions firing shots at each other from afar, rather than in the cage.

But between flash and fire entrances and repeated mention of the specially made belts and rings for the champion v champion winners, the spectacle itself fell flat at times – with spectator murmurs and corner instructions heard clearly during fights.

But after Bellator piled up the wins, PFL chiefs will have been relieved to see their middleweight champion Impa Kasanganay push Eblen all the way before Ferreira’s highlight reel moment.

Eblen, 32, appeared to be on track for his 15th straight win before an explosive sequence from Kasanganay in the second round turned the fight on its head.

A short right hand floored Eblen, who managed to get back to his feet before being sent back to the canvas by an uppercut.

Eblen wrestled his way to survival and then remarkably came out swinging in the final round with the fight finely balanced.

Despite having one eye swollen shut, Eblen opted to keep the fight on the feet and slowly regained control over a tiring Kasanganay.

“It was a close fight. Second round he caught me. I had to show up and be a champion,” Eblen said.

“I was just surviving for a little bit. I was gathering my wits before back to dominating the fight.”

With Saudi Arabia’s vast wealth sweeping aside long-standing rivalries in boxing, PFL is clearly hopeful the same can be done in MMA, with the UFC set to hold their first event there in June.

But as progress was made in the cage, a few metres from the action stood a reminder of the barriers in place for true promotional co-operation.

Ngannou was joined by UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones at cageside.

Jones, 36, even appeared on the broadcast and the PFL used the opportunity to talk up a potential match-up with Ngannou.

Ngannou will make his PFL debut this summer, but UFC president Dana White has always scoffed at the idea of cross-promotional events in any form.

While this was billed as two promotions coming together, PFL bought Bellator in November and now owns all its assets, including the fighters and their contracts.

Jones, who is expected to fight Stipe Miocic on his return from injury later this year, expertly side-stepped the elephant in the room, stopping short of calling out Ngannou directly or mentioning his employers.

“There’s a lot of fights that the world want right now,” Jones said.

“Francis and I would be massive. And Stipe, to the hardcore fans, it’s still a respectable opponent.

“My prediction is I will beat Stipe, my prediction is I will beat Tom Aspinall and Francis Ngannou.

“The way it unfolds is really not my business. My job is to do what I’ve always done, since day one.”