Advertised as a fight between two of the sport’s heaviest hitters, Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane turned out to be quite the grappling affair. After five rounds of technical striking, double-leg takedowns, and jiu-jitsu, Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) defeated his former teammate Gane (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). The heavyweight title unification bout was the UFC 270 pay-per-view main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The build-up to Saturday’s main event centered around the past training relationship between Ngannou and Gane as the two shared similar MMA upbringings. Fernand Lopez served as mentor, coach, and manager of Ngannou throughout the regional scene and into the UFC.
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