“Yes, he’s good, but I’m the champ. Yeah, so it’s really hard to be impressed.”
Francis Ngannou was entertained but not impressed with Ciryl Gane’s knockout of Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris.
The reigning UFC heavyweight champion admitted it was an electric fight with plenty of back-and-forth action but was reluctant to give Gane credit for his Fight of the Night performance.
‘The Predator respects ‘Bon Gamin’ as a fighter but admits it’s hard to be impressed with a man he has already beaten decisively, reminding everyone who the champ is during Saturday’s ESPN+ post-fight show (h/t MMA Junkie).
“That fight was very electric, though,” Ngannou, who was ringside for UFC Paris, said after the fight. “There were good actions in the fight. At some point, you see the fight was half-half and then it switched back to Ciryl’s side, which is what I thought. As far as distance, he’s good at controlling that and he was able to apply that in the fight tonight. You can see the body (shots), that’s what got him the victory. It was just like strategic, technical type of fight.”
“I know he’s is a great fighter. It’s hard to respond to that question for the guy that I beat – if I’m impressed with him. He’s here for a reason. I fought him for a reason because he was probably the No. 1 contender. Yes, he’s good, but I’m the champ. Yeah, so it’s really hard to be impressed.”
Ngannou is expected to return to the UFC early next year to defend his heavyweight title against either Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic. He is currently #5 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.