The main fight of UFC 270 will be a heavyweight championship fight between Francis Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Cyril Gaine (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC). UFC 270: The Ngannou and Gane match will be broadcast live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday, January 22nd. The main card battle time starts at 22:00 ET / 19:00 PT, the ESPN / ESPN + preliminary stages start at 20:00 ET / 17:00 PT and the preliminary stages start at 19:00. ET / 16:00 PT.
How do these two come together?
Ngannou: 35 years old | 6’4 ”| It reaches 83 inches
Gane: 31 years old | 6’5 ”| It reaches 81 inches
What have these two done recently?
Ngannou: V – Stipe Miocic (KO) | V – Jairzinho Rozenstruik (KO) | W – Junior dos Santos (TKO)
Gain: V – Derrick Lewis (TKO) | V – Alexander Volkov (DEC) | V – Jairzinho Rozenstruik (DEK)
How did these two get here?
We’ll see what the REAL fight between Francis Ngannou and Cyril Gain looks like, sparring sessions are damn! And this is probably the most exciting game in the heavyweight category right now.
Ngannou looked like a car when he joined the UFC a few years ago. The Wild punched one of his opponents (he handed Anthony Hamilton a kimura) and soon became a ranked contender for the championship. He knocked out Alistair Overeem in the UFC 218 tournament and sealed his game ticket against then-champion Stipe Miochich. A year later, he fought for gold. Ngannou lost to Miochich by decision and his attempt to return the ball was not so good.
At 0-2, the Cameroon-born fighter was forced to change himself and re-establish himself as a new, improved threat to other heavyweights. And he did so. Ngannou finished up with Curtis Bleydes, Kane Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rosenstruik to win another championship chance against the aforementioned Miochich. He was better prepared to deal with the Strong Style Fight Team star’s game plan and added another brutal knockout to his resume. Now Ngannou has established his first defense and he is up against a familiar name.
Around the same time, Ngannou 2.0 debuted, with former teammate and training partner Cyril Gane attracting a lot of interest from the UFC. After a 3-0 victory as a professional, Bon Gamin signed a contract with the climber and brought with him more technical style, which has served him well so far. The 31-year-old went undefeated and defeated Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rosenstruik and Alexander Volkov, while the latter pushed him into a temporary championship battle against Derrick Lewis. In UFC 265, Gane defeated Lewis in the third round by technical knockout to fight Ngannou.
Why care?
Would it be hyperbolic to say that this is one of the heaviest fights in UFC history? No, right? Well, that’s why you need to take care. The two are fighting on the big stage, at their best, at their best. It couldn’t be better.
