January 22, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Francis Ngannou (red gloves) competes against Cyril Gane (blue gloves) during UFC 270 held at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Image Netflix has added former MMA heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to its May 16 card featuring Ronda Rousey’s return to mixed martial arts for the first time in nearly a decade.
Netflix and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced Monday that Ngannou (18-3, 4 submissions, 13 KOs) will face Philip Lins (18-5, 4 submissions, 9 KOs) at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The announcement comes three days after the PFL released Ngannou, who has fought for promotion only once in three years.
His contract allows Ngannou to compete in other combat sports, and he boxed against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before making his lone appearance in the PFL with a knockout of Renan Ferreira in October 2024.
Ngannou now returns to MMA in a Netflix special against Lins. This is a professionally sanctioned heavyweight match lasting 5-5 minutes.
“While the world was busy talking, I was busy improving,” Ngannou said in a statement. “Silence should not be mistaken for absence; it is the sound of a predator closing the distance. Stepping back into the cage is not just a return, but a recovery. My return to MMA required a stage worthy of the scale of my ambitions, and by working with MVP to bring this event to Netflix, the world will be watching. I’m ready for this new chapter and can’t wait to entertain my fans again and let the world know exactly who I am and what I can deliver on the highest stage.”
Lins said he was “grateful” for the opportunity to be a part of Netflix’s first MMA event as the winner of the 2018 PFL Heavyweight Tournament and the first MMA event for MVP. After winning $1 million in grand prize money in the PFL, Lins signed with the UFC in 2020 and has earned wins over Ion Cutelaba, Ovince Saint Preux, and Marcin Prachnio.
This event is available to over 325 million streamer members at no additional cost.
The headline bout will be Rousey (12-2) against pioneering 145-pounder Gina Carano (7-1). The contest is played over 5 rounds using standard 5 minute rounds and 4 ounce gloves.
Rousey, 39, retired from MMA in 2016 and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018. She then competed for World Wrestling Entertainment from 2018 to 2022. Carano, 43, retired from MMA after losing to Cris Cyborg in 2009 and tried his hand as an actor.
–Field level media
