There are some striking similarities between the two main events at the PFL’s Super Fights Championship “Battle of the Giants” fight card in Riyadh, on Saturday.
The main bout sees former UFC kingpin Francis Ngannou and PFL champion Renan Ferreira clash in a heavyweight title battle. Just before, the co-main is an all-Brazilian featherweight contest between Bellator champion Cris Cyborg and the PFL belt-holder Larissa Pacheco.
Cameroonian Ngannou is returning to the cage for the first time in 33 months in what will be his much-anticipated PFL debut, while Cyborg is fighting in MMA for only the second time since April 2022l. Both star names have taken time out to test their skills in the boxing ring.
Pacheco, like Ferreira, has risen from humble beginnings in Brazil and is on a 10-fight winning streak in the promotion, a successful run that began when she stopped Julija Pajic after 51 seconds in May 2021.
Cyborg certainly has the experience, after almost 20 years as an MMA pro, and arrives with an impressive 27-2 career record that includes 21 knockouts and a submission.
However, at 39, she is nine years older than Pacheco, who is 23-4 after winning a unanimous decision over Russian Marina Spivac last November. She has 11 knockouts and eight submissions.
Cyborg is widely regarded as one of the all-time great female fighters who has won UFC, Strikeforce, Invicta and Bellator titles and she will be aiming to add the PFL Super Fights belt to her collection.
“Every time somebody steps in to fight me, for sure, they have some challenge to bring for me because this is a big series,” Cyborg said at the pre-fight press conference on Thursday. “I train with discipline. I am aware she is a dangerous fighter and I have 25 minutes to keep the plan and get the victory.”
Cyborg has fought almost every top female MMA fighter. Having completed two decades in the business, she is on one of the final stops of her self-styled "legacy tour".
“First, I want to say thank you to all the people in Saudi Arabia. I feel very blessed to be here,” Cyborg said. “I've been waiting and am excited for this fight. It's going to start the legacy tour. If I win, I go into the next. I have three fights left. I'm telling my fans, come watch the fight.
“I'm going to complete two decades in fighting. I feel very blessed to be here, and for 20 years, and I'm going to fight for another belt. It's amazing.”
Cyborg felt the time she spent in boxing will be useful ahead of the PFL Super Fights, adding: “To spend time training in boxing and feature in two fights was better than doing nothing. By doing that, I think I have kept myself in good shape going into this fight.
“It was something different that I would usually do in MMA. In boxing there is a lot to learn and helped me improve on my footwork, striking, avoiding a strike, and a lot of other things. I’m ready and feel great going into this fight.”
Pacheco has had an amazing journey in MMA from her humble origins and sees the Super Fights title as a big opportunity to further elevate her career.
“Definitely, to become a legend I need to beat a legend,” Pacheco said. “What I've already accomplished, people already treat me differently on what I have already accomplished, but definitely a victory over Cyborg will put me on a different platform to where I am in the sport.”
The Ngannou versus Ferreira bout has sent waves around the MMA world as a mega heavyweight showdown. The Cyborg-Pacheco fight is not far behind.
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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