‘See you soon’ – Francis Ngannou accepts call-out as former rival suffers brutal submission loss at PFL Lyon

Vadim Nemkov called out Francis Ngannou after defeating the Cameroonian’s last opponent at PFL Lyon.

The 33-year-old from Russia submitted Renan Ferreira to claim the inaugural PFL heavyweight title at LDLC Arena on Saturday night.

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Ferreira, a former PFL heavyweight tournament champion, hadn’t fought since being knocked out by Ngannou in October 2024.

And Nemkov, an ex-Bellator light heavyweight champion, proved too much for the Brazilian, submitting him with an arm triangle four minutes into round one.

In doing so, Nemkov extended his professional MMA record to 20-2 while remaining unbeaten since 2016, and it’s clear he wants one man next.

“I’ll fight anybody that the company wants me to do, but I really want to fight Francis,” Nemkov said live on the PFL Lyon broadcast after his triumph.

Ngannou has seemingly since accepted, writing on X: “I been ready for a long time. See you in soon…”

What happened when Vadim Nemkov fought Renan Ferreira?

Nemkov took Ferreira to the canvas early, pounding ‘Problema’ with ruthless elbows.

Ferreira had said that he’d been working on his grappling following his defeat to Ngannou, and although he escaped Nemkov’s initial attempt, the 36-year-old quickly found himself back in bottom position.

After a fascinating exchange on the ground during which Nemkov proved he could control the 6’8″ giant on the canvas, the Russian managed to lock in the arm triangle and Ferreira tapped out.

Nemkov re-signed with the PFL in August 2025 after discussions with the UFC collapsed, as the Russian said Dana White’s promotion had lowballed him in contract negotiations.

Ahead of PFL Lyon, Nemkov, who is on a two-and-a-half year contract with the promotion, said fighting Ngannou would be an ‘honour.’

Jose Peñuela / PFL

Getty / PFL

A fight with Ngannou is now clearly the fight to make for the PFL, the organisation’s new, ambitious CEO John Martin.

Nemkov’s win over Ferreira leaves the PFL with an easier choice than if the latter won, but Ngannou, who only has one fight left on his current PFL contract, has never publicly discussed fighting the Russian.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show this week, the ex-UFC heavyweight champion named Jon Jones and Deontay Wilder when asked who he wanted to fight next.

In fact, Ngannou claims the PFL never even mentioned fighting the winner of Nemkov vs Ferreira.

The PFL also may not want to offer Ngannou Nemkov next, as he could win the heavyweight strap and leave the promotion as champion.

However, should they book the fight and Nemkov wins, it would be hard to argue against him being one of the best heavyweights on the planet.

What happened when Ngannou fought Ferreira?

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‘Problema’ faced Ngannou for the PFL Super Fights title in Saudi Arabia, with reports suggesting he received a guaranteed $1m for accepting the bout.

Ngannou was making his debut for the promotion after lucrative boxing clashes with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, and a turbulent exit from Dana White’s UFC.

After trading crushing leg kicks in the opening exchanges, Ngannou went on the offence and quickly dragged Ferreira to the canvas.

Ferreira attempted a Kimura and arm triangle while on his back but Ngannou defended well and it wasn’t long before he put his opponent to sleep.

Ngannou unloaded several thunderous left hands with Ferreira helpless on the canvas, leaving the referee with no choice but to stop the fight.

With one fight left on his PFL contract, a fight with Nemkov now makes the most sense for the ex-UFC great.

Veteran Cris Cyborg defends title in co-main event

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Elsewhere at PFL Lyon, MMA veteran Cris Cyborg defended the PFL women’s featherweight title by submitting Australia’s Sara Collins in the co-main event.

After a dominant first round, Cyborg continued her momentum in round two until she experienced some rare adversity when she was dragged to the canvas.

Cyborg finished the second stanza on her feet, but Collins found success with her takedowns once again 90 seconds into round three.

Collins landed a few shots on the canvas, but Cyborg scrambled to escape incredibly and take the Melbourne fighter’s back.

And it wasn’t long before Collins was tapping out to a rear naked choke from the former UFC champion.

Cyborg will now look to plan her retirement fight in MMA before going back to boxing with big plans for 2026.

Speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of PFL Lyon, the 40-year-old from Brazil revealed that she wants to fight for a world title in boxing before she turns her back on combat sports once and for all.

She reiterated this point when speaking to Dan Hardy after her win at PFL Lyon, mentioning Leah McCourt and Dakota Ditcheva as possible opponents for her retirement fight.