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Ngannou Leaves No Doubt at UFC 270
Photo Credit: MMA Fighting
Francis Ngannou left no doubt with his performance at UFC 270 that he is still the baddest Heavyweight Champion on the planet right now. With his unanimous victory over interim champ Cyril Gane, Ngannou unified the title and eliminated any lingering uncertainty in the division. “The Predator” grinded out all five rounds and won unanimously for the first time in his career. He had previously had 3 fights go the distance and lost all three. The champion now holds a record of 17-3 and is named fourth in ESPN’s pound for pound rankings.
Gane remained composed and wary of Ngannou’s knockout power. Early in the rounds he mixed in kicks to frustrate Ngannou and keep the distance between both fighters. However, Nngannou’s persistence and technique paid off when “Bon Gamin '' missed a kick in the third round, giving Ngannou his first takedown of the night in the third round. With a total of four takedowns and a ground control time of 8:29, Ngannou limited Gane’s most lethal weapons. Ngannou also showed a growth in his ground game by escaping a total of three submission attempts.
Gane who falls to a record of 10-1, has three wins by submission in the UFC. He called Ngannou a “warrior” and credited is “mindset''.
With such an early title shot in his career and a growing uncertainty about the future of the belt, Gane has to feel good that he can bounce back into title contention again very soon. In the post fight press conference, Ngannou admitted to having suffered a torn MCL and ACL during the training leading up to the fight. The injury is estimated to keep him inactive for at least nine months. The situation is a peculiar one for the champion as he completed his eight-fight deal signed in 2017.
UFC President Dana White, who did not put the belt around Ngannou after he was declared the winner, also refused to show up for his post fight interview. The win for Ngannou extends his reign in the UFC despite rumblings of the French- Cameroonian leaving out the back door for more money in the boxing world. While his future going forward with the UFC still clouded, on Saturday night he showed why he deserved to be the pound for pound heavyweight in the UFC.
Written by- Isaac Gomez
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