Sensation! Delija from Dubrovnik traveled to Riyadh as a substitute for the Ngannou – Ferreira match

Cameroonian Francis Ngannou (age 38, 17-3) and Brazilian Renan Ferreira (34, 13-3) will meet the elite on Saturday night in Riyadh at the PFL event. The stake will be the “Superfights” belt, which is designed for such occasions.

There is also a Croatian MMA fighter in Riyadh Ante Delija (34, 24-6), who was paid by organizers to come in as a replacement if Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, or Ferreira get injured. Russian Vadim Nemkov was initially considered as a replacement, but he refused.

Nemkova has suffered from a lack of appearances within the organization since the merger between Bellator and the PFL. The former Bellator light heavyweight champion has only made one appearance since the organizations merged in November of last year.

Delija traveled to Riyadh with coach Stipe Drviš. He has not fought since April, when Valentin Moldavski won in the PFL. Delija lost by technical knockout in the first round, but he could not give his best due to the leg injury he received at the start of the match.

The chances of Delia performing in Saudi Arabia are minimal, but if he gets the chance, he will have something to say and show in the cage. He fought the aforementioned Ferreira in August 2022 and defeated him by technical knockout in the first round.