Francis Ngannou relishing return to MMA action against Renan Ferreira in Riyadh

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is relishing his return to MMA action when he takes on Renan Ferreira in the Professional Fighters League: Battle of the Giants in Riyadh on October 19.

The winner of the heavyweight bout will receive the PFL's newly established super-fights championship belt as Saudi Arabia continues its expansion into the MMA world.

Ngannou’s last UFC appearance was his successful title defence against Cyril Gane in January 2022 before parting ways with the promotion following a contract dispute. Ngannou has won 17 of his 20 MMA bouts, with 12 of his victories coming by knockout.

The Cameroonian then featured in a couple of high-profile heavyweight boxing contests, the first of which saw him almost secure a sensational victory over the then undefeated WBC champion Tyson Fury in October 2023.

What looked on paper an easy night for the Briton turned into near disaster that saw him climb off canvas in the third round before going on to describe his contentious split decision victory (95–94, 96–93, 94–95) as “probably my toughest fight in 10 years”.

He was then back in the ring less than six months later taking on another British fighter in Anthony Joshua but the former WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion produced a ruthless performance, knocking out Ngannou in the second round.

“I told him he shouldn't leave boxing. He's two fights in, and he's fought the best,” insisted Joshua after the bout in Riyadh. “He can go a long way if he stays dedicated.”

But Ngannou has decided the time is right to return to the MMA cage as he takes on the PFL heavyweight champion Ferreira in a co-main event alongside long-time Bellator featherweight title-holder Cris Cyborg's fight against PFL two-weight champion Larissa Pacheco.

“I feel good returning to MMA. I have already been in the gym like always as a fighter and have worked for five successive weeks, not like a camp but working on my reflexes and my game,” Ngannou, 37, told The National in a zoom interview.

“It’s a routine I have been following all through my fighting career. It’s not that you should have a fight to train, but yes, I train for a specific fight when it’s on my schedule. I’ll be ready for the big day.”

Ferreira won the PFL's 2023 heavyweight tournament before defeating Bellator's heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in February, having won 13 of his 19 fights, delivering 11 knockouts.

At 6’8” and four inches taller than Ngannou, the 34-year-old is confident that he can upset his opponent.

“He has a big problem in front of him. I can wrestle him, knock him out, take him down to the ground and submit him,” Ferreira said at a press conference last week.

Those comments were brushed off by Ngannou, though. “Yeah, I mean if you're in this level of fighter and don't believe that you can finish a fight or that you take a fight without believing that you can finish the guy, it means you don't really know what you are doing,” he said in response.

“But again, that's what he's thinking, that's what he's saying, which is quite different about what he is, about what will happen.”

Ngannou has said that he considered retiring from fighting after the death of his 15-month old son in April but is now dedicating his comeback to Kobe.

“I've been living a life, managed to stay alive. You know this is a tough world, it's hard to stay alive, even that is a full-time job,” said Ngannou, who received an outpouring of condolences from fellow fighters in MMA and boxing after revealing the news on social media. “Fighting is a part of my life. Fighting is not life. So, a break was just a part of the process.

“It's not something special. Even when I fight, even when I started, I was fighting and having a break to let myself to reconstruct, to heal, or to do anything else.

“I think it's just how it works. So, there is not a specific thing that will happen to everybody. I didn't have a chance to fight for him [his son], he wasn't sick to the point that we could have taken him to the hospital and try to find a doctor for him. I didn't have that chance. Yes, now I’m back and I dedicate this fight to him.”

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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