‘I Wanted Izzy to Come’- Francis Ngannou Explains How He’s Preparing for Ciryl Gane

UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou spoke to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn ahead of his first title defense at UFC 270. ‘The Predator’ is looking to defend his undisputed status against current interim champion Ciryl Gane. Both men have a storied history as they are former training partners. Not to mention, Ngannou’s former coach is now in Gane’s camp making things more compelling.

Ahead of UFC 270, Ngannou was looking to enlist the expertise of middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ represents one-third of the current roster of African-born champions, thus kindling an association with Ngannou. However, due to the restrictions placed on New Zealand due to COVID-19, Adesanya wasn’t able to join Ngannou’s training camp.

‘The Predator’ talked about the scenario of having ‘Izzy’ in his corner for UFC 270.

“I wanted Izzy to come [for UFC 270 training camp] but you know the New Zealand situation is not easy now due to the COVID but he would have been a good fit for me for my movement and cage control and everything.”

“He is pretty good at cage control and movement and all those stuff so having him in person would have been great but we couldn’t make it. He was really willing to come down for it but the situation in New Zealand is not very easy to travel.”

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Francis Ngannou: Looking to build a legacy

The Cameroonian-born UFC champion has an uphill task in defeating Ciryl Gane, who is undefeated as a professional. ‘Bon Gamin’ has been able to improve with each possible showing and he’s looked at as the future of the division.

Many fans and pundits believe that Ngannou’s power punching will be put to the test against Gane.

However, Ngannou has stayed strong in his belief that the dynamite he packs in his hands will be enough to win out the day. He has knocked out a large majority of his UFC competition and it’s becoming hard to deny his supremacy. UFC 270 will be a marquee eye-opener that will provide the fans with a litmus test for Ngannou’s ceiling in the company.

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