Pouya Rahmani Backs His Wrestling to Control Francis Ngannou in a Potential PFL Showdown
The 6-0 heavyweight says his wrestling and grappling would overwhelm Ngannou, though the former champion has since shown growth on the mat.
Pouya Rahmani’s confidence in a potential fight with Francis Ngannou rests on a clear idea: take the former champion to the mat, stay on top and make the bout a grappling contest. The unbeaten PFL heavyweight says his wrestling credentials would let him control Ngannou, but that matchup would test how well Rahmani can turn his background into MMA success against an opponent who has already shown he can adapt.
Rahmani, 34, is 6-0 as a professional mixed martial artist. The Iranian national wrestling champion has finished four of those six opponents by submission and two by knockout. Those results give his claim a record behind it, even if they don’t yet answer how his skills would hold up against a fighter with Ngannou’s experience, power and history at the top of heavyweight MMA.
Rahmani sees grappling as the difference
In a recent interview with Home of Fight, Rahmani framed the potential matchup around the gap he believes separates their grappling. “Brother we talk about grappling, there is levels in this game,” he said.
He pointed to his freestyle wrestling background and jiu-jitsu credentials as the foundation for that confidence. “I was a national team player (in freestyle wrestling), I was world champion, I am world champion black belt jiu-jitsu. There’s levels to this game.”
Rahmani’s prediction is emphatic: he expects to get Ngannou down and keep him there. “When I put him down, brother, all of his country will have to come to help him get up from under my hand,” he said. “When I am on top of you, you are over, bye, bye, you know?”
That confidence reflects a familiar tactical calculation in heavyweight MMA. A strong wrestler can change the shape of a fight by forcing a dangerous striker to defend takedowns, limiting the space and time available for clean power shots. But reaching the mat is only the first part of the task. A fighter must secure position, control an opponent’s movement and avoid giving up openings while working toward a finish.
Ngannou’s wrestling history has more than one chapter
Rahmani can point to Ngannou’s first UFC defeat as evidence that an elite wrestler can control him. At UFC 220 in 2018, Stipe Miocic outgrappled Ngannou over five rounds. That performance offered a blueprint for slowing Ngannou through sustained wrestling, and it may help explain why Rahmani believes his own strengths would translate directly into a one-sided result.
There’s a significant qualification, though: the Miocic fight came early in Ngannou’s career. The former heavyweight champion later showed progress in that part of his game when he used his wrestling to defeat Ciryl Gane in 2022. That result makes the matchup less simple than “wrestler versus striker.” Ngannou has demonstrated that he can bring wrestling into a fight himself, and any opponent looking to control him would have to account for that development.
The question for Rahmani is therefore not just whether he can wrestle. His record and background support that strength. The harder question is whether he can impose it against Ngannou while managing the risks of closing distance and maintaining control. In MMA, wrestling takes place alongside strikes, submissions and position changes; success in one discipline doesn’t automatically guarantee control across a full fight.
Rahmani’s next bout comes in Dubai
Rahmani has stayed active outside the cage, recording victories in Real American Freestyle and ACBJJ as well as building his unbeaten MMA record. Those appearances add to his competitive experience in wrestling and jiu-jitsu, while his six MMA wins show how he has begun applying those skills in the sport. Still, a potential fight with Ngannou would represent a different level of opposition and a different test of how reliably he can put his preferred game into practice.
Ngannou’s next fight has not been confirmed. He most recently finished Philipe Lins on Netflix this past May, leaving the timing of any return unclear. Rahmani, by contrast, has a bout scheduled: he is set to make his seventh professional MMA appearance at the upcoming PFL event in Dubai on November 14.
That next outing gives Rahmani an immediate chance to add to the evidence behind his claims. His six finishes show he can end fights, and his wrestling résumé explains why he believes Ngannou would struggle underneath him. The matchup itself remains hypothetical, with no confirmed fight between them. For now, the clearest measure of Rahmani’s progress will be whether he continues turning his grappling advantage into wins as the level of opposition rises.
