Ngannou Reigns Supreme At UFC 270

After a convincing victory at the weekend, Francis Ngannou remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He closed out a decision against the interim champ Cyril Gane to successfully make his first title defence.

It wasn’t a barnstormer of a fight that some expected, instead, it was a tense and technical battle throughout the duration of the bout.

Gane wasn’t aggressive and neither was Francis, it was clear to see that the former sparring partners remembered what they were both capable of. However, it was the champion who made the appropriate adjustments to see out the fight and get a deserving victory.

Rather than stay on the feet, Ngannou implemented a wrestling heavy approach to nullify the fluidity and slickness of Cyril Gane’s striking ability. This resultantly paid off as it tired out Cyril and allowed the champion to shoot for takedowns and successfully get them. In such a short career so far, the wrestling credentials of the Frenchman hadn’t been tested. The tactical genius of Eric Nicksick and those over at XtremeCouture have contributed massively to the transformation of Francis Ngannou. From being a one-dimensional knockout artist, Francis is now a lot more patient and technical in his approach, willing to wait to eventually unload brutal power.

What we saw at the weekend was a smart Francis who made the key decision to utilise an improved wrestling style to get the win he needed. He even admitted in an interview after that his striking was not feeling right so adjustments had to be made.

Maybe in the past, a certain Ngannou would have let that striking issue lose him the fight, but thanks to mass improvements all over the shop, the heavyweight champion proved who rightfully deserves the strap.

This is only just the beginning for Cyril Gane as well, it is important to remember that he made his MMA debut only a mere 4 years ago. Having shown a range of skills and a unique style in just 8 UFC fights, the Frenchman is only getting started. It feels as if this defeat and the way it happened will help Cyril evolve even more, just look at what’s happened to Francis after the Stipe defeat back in January 2018, it could have a similar effect.

In terms of what’s next for Francis, a fight with Jon Jones should finally cement itself. The champ has knowingly had a difficult relationship with President Dana White and has also been extremely vocal about fighter pay and his own salary. It would be unnecessary and the wrong decision if he decided to transfer over to boxing right now. There’s a couple, maybe even a few more fights that need to be made.

It’s up to the UFC and Francis though, what they both want might be completely different to what is the best choice.

That is everything for today, expect some more posts in the next week or so.