Brazilian heavyweight Renan Ferreira is in action this Friday in New York City, where he faces Maurice Greene in one of two semifinal bouts at PFL 8.
Ferreira (10-3, 3NC) was wrapping up fight camp when Cageside Press spoke to him recently, saying he was “putting the icing on the cake, the cherry on top,” and “ready for this next war” ahead of the Greene bout.
And he’s not worried about Greene potentially being distracted, with the former UFC fighter seemingly being more focused on Francis Ngannou than Ferreira himself in recent interviews. To be fair to Greene, it’s the media asking those questions — Ngannou moving to UFC and boxing is the biggest story of the year, after all — and Ferreira acknowledges that he’d likely do the same.
“I don’t think so. I think Maurice has his eyes on the task at hand,” Ferreira told us when asked if he felt Greene was overlooking him. When it comes to thinking about Ngannou, “I don’t blame him. It’s a big opportunity, it’s a big stage. It’s one of those calls that any true heavyweight wants to get.”
And should he win it all this season, Ferreira is game to call out Francis Ngannou himself. The Cameroonian is expected to debut in the PFL sometime in 2024, following a boxing match with Tyson Fury later this year.
“Yeah absolutely. I think that’s something I would do myself too. Francis has talked about me before, he’s said that he has his eyes on me. That’s definitely one of those moves that I would be doing on my side as well.”
In the meantime, there is Maurice Greene between Ferreira and berth in the finals. “He’s an experienced guy. Tall, lengthy, a true heavyweight. Comes with a ton of experience from other promotions,” noted Ferreira. “I do see a lot of gaps and holes in his game, and I look forward to capitalizing on those.”
On the opposite side of the bracket, meanwhile, Denis Goltsov faces Jordan Heiderman. Ferreira gave us his prediction for that fight, with one caveat. “I think Denis comes in on a nice roll, good amount of wins in sequence. That said, it is heavyweight. Anything can happen. One big hand lands, and that’s all.”
Watch our full interview with PFL 8 heavyweight semifinalist Renan Ferreira above. The event takes place this Friday, August 18, 2023 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
