UFC 270 NGANNOU VS GANE Sun, Jan 23

Patsy167

A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unification bout between current champion Francis Ngannou and interim champion Ciryl Gane will serve as the event headliner.

A UFC Flyweight Championship trilogy bout between current champion Brandon Moreno and former champion Deiveson Figueiredo is expected to take place at the event.The pairing first met at UFC 256 on December 12, 2020 which ended in a majority draw (Figueiredo retained the title). Their second meeting took place at UFC 263 on June 12, 2021 where Moreno captured the title by submission in the third round. The rematch was originally expected to take place at UFC 269, but it was moved to this event.

A middleweight bout between Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson was scheduled for the event. However, the pairing was moved to UFC 271 three weeks later.

magic_murph

Don't fancy Ngannou's chances here. Of course if he lands a big punch it is probably game over but Gane just seems more well rounded, better footwork, more technical, more experienced etc so should have the ability to carve out a decision win.

Not a great card overall but will still watch a couple of the fights

NiceFella

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118456903#Comment_118456903

I would not write off big Frano.

He has more to his game than an over hand as was seen in his last bout with Stipe, he has improved Alot in the technically. Everyone dragging up sparring videos from a few years back as proof he'll lose to Game is rediculous. Ngannou is just one of those fighters that needs to express himself by showcasing his power.

Not writing off Gane, but I'm backing Ngannou.

Ngannou will plaster Gane.

Moreno will also retain.

Rjd2

Its not a great card this bar the main event which hopefully happens and this does not help at all

https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1481060399252398083?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

yourdeadwright

Gane is a really good and technical fight but 3 of his last 5 fights have gone the distance nothing wrung with that normally but i think if you can't finish Francis or can't keep him on the ground for 5 rounds your eventually going to get hit hit extremely hard in the face,

Brussels Sprout

The co-main will be the third consecutive fight between those two. Has that ever happened before in the history of the UFC?

Patsy167

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461353#Comment_118461353

https://sqaf.club/most-fights-between-two-ufc-fighters/

Patsy167

I'm hoping there will be some good promotion for this card in the week leading up to the fight. It seems to be flying under the radar. Cyril and Francis have amazing backstories and the common coach makes for a great hook on the rivalry if they do it right.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462240#Comment_118462240

Thanks, although that didn't really answer my specific question. I knew that people had fought 3 times (Stipe and D.C. have done it recently as well as McGregor/Poirier) but specifically I was interested had anyone done it in consecutive bouts. Given that the list on that page is relatively short I'm going to assume that it's never happened before.

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460229#Comment_118460229

To be fair he handled Lewis with ease in his backyard and as we all know he can really bang.

magic_murph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457147#Comment_118457147

Agree that big frano is getting better but in his last fight against Stipe it was one sided in that Stipe froze and was on the back foot. When Ngannou when in for the kill that was really the only time Stipe engaged (that I remember) he also manage to rock Ngannou a bit not too much but enough for me to notice. I would think Gane hits harder than Stipe but in saying that considering he has had a lot of decision wins may contradict that.

I can just see it being a bit of a cat & mouse fight and the longer it goes on the odds start to lean more toward Gane.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118464896#Comment_118464896

Lewis normally loses when he face competent strikers , He's lost to Gane, Hunt, JDS , even Volkov was miles ahead of him only to be caught with a shot in the last 10 to 5 seconds , He can throw hard but he needs you to come on to him and be stationery ,

I know he beat Francis but that fight was weird ,

Rjd2

https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/33059826/fight-ufc-again-current-deal-fight-vs-ciryl-gane

Francis gone possibly after this fight. Its a ballsy move as I don't know if he will get seriously paid elsewhere, but nonetheless good for him for shining more light on how Dana "pays" his fighters.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118475351#Comment_118475351

I was listing to interviews and reading about the hold up in the Fury v Whyte fight and one problem is Whyte wants 10 million quid but the fact is that Dillian Whyte fhas only made 500 k for each of his last 3 fights one, one possibly being 600k ,

Francis is on that now with the UFC & no way he goes straight into boxing and sells more seats than Whyte,

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118475504#Comment_118475504

Yeah that's a fair point with Francis... I love the bloke but he has never proved he is any sort of draw whatsoever sadly.

Regarding boxing I can't figure out his plan at all, he is 35 so its way to late to get into boxing no matter how hard he commits himself to it.

I don't imagine any of the draws in heavyweight boxing wanting to entertain him whatsoever, maybe Fury on twitter to kill some time when bored in an afternoon but that's it.

McGregor could find bums in boxing to fight and we know it would draw money, what type of boxer could Ngannu find that he could last more than six rounds with that would Joe Bloggs would spend money on?

Esse85

Francis wouldn't have the cardio or footwork to do straight boxing.

Mehaffey1

Think the Ngannou v Gane fight is going to be a cracker. Hope Gane wins but he'll have to go 25minutes without getting unlucky once.

Brandon Moreno is a really likeable fighter, hope he gets the 3rd over Figereido. I was surprised when he cut through Deveison last fight.

Countdown show is out now

https://youtu.be/jE7FYeUKU9g

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118475832#Comment_118475832

Everyone wants to do a Conor but unfortunately they all forget they are not Conor

Honestly nobody in MMA right now can even get close to the nunbers Conor pulls, Even in a boxing champion v Champion cross over there is none of then that would be anywhere close

Also it doesn't help that boxing doesn't currently have another Flyod

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484129#Comment_118484129

Yeah I know some have suggested he may want to do some novelty fights ala Woodley and get paid .

That's fine, but he needs to find a dance partner such as Paul who can sell PPVS ...that's easier said than done to say the least.

Their has been plenty of non Paul novelty fights with UFC/Boxing/ Veterans and I don't think many set the world on fire when it came to making money.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118485273#Comment_118485273

Pauls last PPV fight just gone only sold 65k the last time a UFC sold like that was 20 years ago in 2001 Couture v Rizzo , Sure also in 2001 Tito v Matyushenko sold 75 k

He out right lie's about what he is getting paid,

MrStuffins

Really surprised by how many of the pundits and experts are saying Gane will win easily here. I can't think of a single one i've heard pick Ngannou. I watched BT's predicitons show and Bisping must have said "puncher's chance" a million times when talking about Ngannou's chances. I think Franner's being severely written off here.

Also, buzzing for Moreno v Figgy 3!

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118495689#Comment_118495689

Ye very odd maybe because they are on the UFC pay roll

Gane didn't put away Volkov or Rozenstruik he won 5 rounds against both but most rounds where competitive ,I'd worry if Francis can keep it competitive his power will get to Gane ,

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484129#Comment_118484129

Yeah that fight really was a one-off. Looking back on it they managed to have it right at the perfect time. McGregor was at his absolute peak in terms of his UFC performances (it's been downhill since then). His prior fight was a masterclass on the feet to destroy Alvarez in a huge pay per view. That put the seed in people's mind that he could really defeat actual boxers. The fact that they managed to get the fight organised but that he ultimately failed to win, immediately diminishes the excitement of any future cross-over fights. At that time the whole venture was an unknown quantity. They managed to bottle the magic but it was a one-time deal.

yourdeadwright

Is it just me or does it seem everyone is trying to paint Francis out as the bad guy in the little made up story ,here,

When inreality there is no bad guy,

There seems to be a real lack of investment in him from the UFC which is crazy because he could be a huge star for them

akelly02

looking forward to this massive heavyweight bout.

Eoinbmw

Francis in the second by flatline!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118510859#Comment_118510859

Haven't really noticed it. Some places are maybe being careful about criticising UFC but haven't seen much really criticising Ngannou. I certainly wouldn't criticise him, he has a handful of potential big paydays left, he'd be mad not to maximise it. There is always the risk he goes elsewhere and loses and it's hard to say he'd have time to build again.

**** me, that Michael Morales is some prospect. Only 22.

im on FF side. But Im scared. What a fight! Win or lose! What a display! Love the sport! love the art!

Love the form. Love the spirit. Two people we should all want to be like!

LEts get them down and get off!

Fran. Nig for the win!

I love you lall!

yourdeadwright

Kind of poetic justice in the end,

Gane was happy to win by just touching Francis & moving away, In recent fights he used his movement to get in but put more on his shots and started to ramp up the power but last night he just wanted a touch and move stagey which is crap to watch,

So Francis basically decided to do the the same but on the deck, just done the old wet blanket,

Happy he won ,

Mehaffey1

Hard to see Moreno come out second in that awesome fight, I had him winning 48-47, the same margin all three give but for Figereido.

Francis vs Gane was like an alternate universe. Don't really know how Gane's team thought they were pretty much in the clear going into Round 5 and some bad decisions lost it for him. Imagine having Francis backed as the winner via decision after 5 rounds.

On the other hand Francis deserved the win. A solid 25 minute performance with a huge amount of skills on display that we've never seen before.

Patsy167

Impressive game plan from Francis and his team, very deserving of the win. He's evolved so much since the Derrick Lewis fight. Francis v Jones next please UFC.

Homelander

I don't think Gane's team thought they were in the clear, they were saying it's impossible to lose in a sort of "We've come so far, we're not going to lose now" motivational speech.

Slow fight but amazing to see Ngannou grappling and wrestling, that explosive body slam, some of the reversals, I honestly couldn't believe what I was seeing. Now people have to think about that instead of simply worrying about the sledgehammer hands.

Thought Moreno edged the fight as well but it was a really good back and forth, no losers in that fight really.

Hard to know what's next now for Cyril and Ngannou. Ideally Ngannou v Jones and Stipe v Cyril for me. If Jones doesn't come through I'd like to see Stipe v Ngannou 3.

I had Moreno 3-2 as well. They have to go again.

orecir

Figgy won the fight for me with the knock downs. Amazing improvement in such a short amount of time by himself under Cejudos training.

If they do fight for a 4th time would this be the first time this has ever happened in mma?

I reckon when Cyril reflects on the title fight he will regret it as a massive missed opportunity. If he was a bit more active in the final few rounds and could of kept it standing for one of the final 3 rounds he would of won the fight.

Fair play to Ngannou. His development in such a short space of time is incredible.

Brussels Sprout

The odds on both Ngannou and Figueredo winning by decision must have been astronomical!

Childish behaviour by White not putting the belt around Ngannou. Makes me all the happier that he won knowing that it clearly pi$$ed White off so much. Great to have a champion who addresses the raw deal that the fighters get at the expense of the record UFC profit margin that White enjoys boasting about so much.

Best fight night for awhile. Still recovering. Enjoyed that!

yourdeadwright

Watched the fight back and i think from round 1 its pretty obvious Francis was injured he didn't move nearly as well as the Stipe fight

Im not even talking about setting up strikes or anything just his footwork and moving around was far more deliberate and robotic last night

I was very surprised to see the odds going into the last round of the main event with Ngannou something like -325, I was right to be a bit since going into the last round it was winner takes all.

Patsy167

Great interview with Francis on the MMA hour with Ariel Helwani yesterday, well worth a listen for any MMA fan

yourdeadwright

Dana White came across so so bad the other night,

What a child not putting the belt on Francis, He's your company's heavy weight champion, you gave him his contract & once he is fulfilling that very contract (which he is) then there should be no problem at all, Infact you should be delighted & give him praise that he didn't pull out when he had a serious injury to save your show ,

If he isn't going to sign a new one the he is gone and not your problem anymore,