Renan Ferreira knocked out Ryan Bader

And not only would the winner leave Riyadh with bragging rights and a championship belt but also a life-changing bout against Ngannou.

The PFL announced the victor would be the man to welcome Ngannou back to the MMA cage.

And Ferreira made short work of Bader after dropping the former UFC contender with a right hand in the opening stages.

It did not take very long for the referee to then jump in as the giant 6ft 8in Brazilian reined down brutal strikes.

Ngannou sat next to Mike Tyson cageside and watched on as Ferreira called him out following his KO of the night.

He said: “I’m the record breaker, I’m the record setter. Francis, where you at? I’m waiting, let’s do this. I’m the champion out here.”

Ngannou, 37, last year walked out on the UFC to sign for rivals PFL, who allowed him to pursue boxing along with his MMA commitments.

He faced Tyson Fury, 35, on his boxing debut and astonishingly dropped the Gypsy King, only to lose a controversial split-decision.

Now, Ngannou returns on March 8 back in Saudi against Anthony Joshua, 34.

But the PFL have already confirmed he will fight Ferreira by the time he makes his MMA comeback.

And when Ngannou entered talks to sign with the PFL, he negotiated that his next opponent in the cage must be paid $2m (£1.5m).

So Ferreira – who won the PFL’s $1m season last year – looks in line for another healthy payday when Ngannou swaps the ring for the cage.