UFC 270 is just a week away, but there have been a few changes to the card.
The UFC 270 card will be the first UFC Pay-Per-View in 2022 and it is stacked. The headliner is a heavyweight title matchup between Francis Ngannou and interim champion Ci…
UFC 270 is just a week away, but there have been a few changes to the card.
The interesting circumstances between these two fighters and the fact that they used to train together have made this bout the standout on the card. The rest of the main card and prelims are filled with top talent as well. However, there have been two important changes to the event recently.
The other shake-up to the UFC 270 fight card is Charles Jourdain has stepped in to face Ilia Topuria after his original opponent Movsar Evloev fell ill. This news was first reported by Álvaro Gª Colmenero on Twitter. Topuria is currently undefeated as a professional and is now on a three-win streak in the UFC. Jourdain is coming off a win over Andre Ewell just a few weeks ago.
With these last-minute changes, the current UFC 270 fight card is as follows:
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou (c) vs. Ciryl Gane (ic)
Flyweight Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Bantamweight Cody Stamann vs. Said Nurmagomedov
Featherweight: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Jourdain
Middleweight Rodolfo Vieira vs. Wellington Turman
Bantamweight Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry
Bantamweight Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
Welterweight Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
Lightweight Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
Women’s Flyweight Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes says that out of his former opponents Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou, it’s “The Black Beast” who packs the hardest punch.
Across his 19-fight professional MMA career, Blaydes has only tasted defeat agains…
UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes says that out of his former opponents Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou, it’s “The Black Beast” who packs the hardest punch.
Across his 19-fight professional MMA career, Blaydes has only tasted defeat against Ngannou and Lewis. In his UFC debut back in 2016, “Razor” had the first blemish added to his record by “The Predator” in the form of a doctor stoppage.
After going 6-0-1 in his next seven outings, a period that included wins against Aleksei Oleinik, Mark Hurt, and Alistair Overeem, Blaydes had his chance at redemption.
In the main event of a Beijing, China-held UFC Fight Night in 2018, the Illinois native shared the Octagon with Ngannou for the second time. On that occasion, the current UFC Heavyweight Champion got the job done without a doctor, securing a first-round TKO less than a minute into the contest.
Like with his first defeat, Blaydes had no issue rebounding after his second setback. Mounting a four-fight win streak, he defeated former titleholder Junior dos Santos and veteran striker Alexander Volkov. That form granted him a title eliminator against Lewis. But in the UFC Vegas 19 main event, Blaydes was knocked out cold for the first time in his career.
In an exclusive interview with MMA News, Blaydes discussed the immense power of both Ngannou and Lewis, the upcoming UFC 270 main event, his heavyweight GOAT, Jon Jones’ expected heavyweight debut, and his own return to action in 2022.
Blaydes: Lewis Slept Me, Ngannou Didn’t
Ngannou is widely regarded as not only the biggest power puncher in MMA but the hardest hitter on the globe. That claim is even backed up by some numbers. In 2017, the Cameroonian powerhouse set the record for the most powerful recorded punch in history.
That vicious ability to knock everyone and anyone out has been on full display in the UFC. In his five fights since consecutive defeats to Lewis and Stipe Miocic on the scorecards in 2018, Ngannou has knocked out Blaydes, Miocic, dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, four of whom didn’t even escape the opening round.
But despite that, Blaydes believes the UFC’s power throne is occupied by Lewis, who boasts the most KOs in UFC history. Having felt the power of both top-five heavyweights, “Razor” believes it’s “The Black Beast” who boasts the power edge, citing the fact Lewis was able to sleep him and Ngannou wasn’t as his reasons.
“Well, Derrick. Obviously, I’d never been put to sleep, he put me to sleep. Gonna have to give it to him,” Blaydes told MMA News’ James Lynch. “When we (Blaydes and Ngannou) fought the first time, that was a doctor stoppage, I was not out, but I guess it goes down as a TKO. And then in Beijing, again, he dropped me twice in rapid succession, and then the referee jumped in, but I was aware, I remember everything. When Derrick Lewis knocked me out, I woke up in the ambulance, so there you go. That’s a big difference.”
Blaydes, on the other hand, finds himself in an awkward position. After comfortably defeating Rozenstruik at UFC 266 last September, he cemented his status as a top-five heavyweight.
However, with three of the four names above him booked, the other being Miocic, who will likely either fight for the title or challenge Jones next and having already defeated the two contenders below him, options are limited for the time being.
Targeting an April return to the Octagon, Blaydes will seemingly wait for other fights to play out, and will perhaps challenge the loser of next weekend’s pay-per-view main event.
Who would you like to see Curtis Blaydes enter the cage with next?
UFC heavyweight champion Francis
Ngannou predicted a quick knockout of undefeated challenger Ciryl
Gane in the main event of UFC 270. Gane won the interim…
UFC heavyweight champion Francis
Ngannou predicted a quick knockout of undefeated challenger Ciryl
Gane in the main event of UFC 270. Gane won the interim…
Ciryl Gane is looking to beat the “game” of the UFC.
Recently, we had a UFC champion in Charles Oliveira crowned after a long, hard-fought road in the UFC. Ciryl Gane is not like that. He has only seven fights in the UFC, but he has made them all c…
Ciryl Gane is looking to beat the “game” of the UFC.
Recently, we had a UFC champion in Charles Oliveira crowned after a long, hard-fought road in the UFC. Ciryl Gane is not like that. He has only seven fights in the UFC, but he has made them all count.
Now, he is getting ready to fight for his first undisputed UFC title against a familiar foe, his former training partner and the reigning heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Gane is aware that this fight with Ngannou is the most important of his career, and the way he is looking at it could win him the “game” of the UFC in a way.
“For me, yes it’s (Ngannou fight) different than Derrick Lewis (at UFC 265), not because it’s Francis, but because it’s the champion, you see,” Gane explained on The MMA Hour. “And the champion is a really great fighter, with a lot of strength. I like to say that this is the ‘final boss’ (like in my) video games [LAUGHS]. It looks a little bit like that. So yes, this time, like every time, if I make a mistake, it’s gonna be okay, if I will make a mistake. If I lose, I’m really okay with that. Like every fight in my career it was like that, but this time I want to do the last step, you see, that’s why it’s a little bit different.”
If Gane is feeling pressure heading into UFC 270, he is hiding it well. He has already proven that he is one of the best heavyweights in the sport as he is now holding the interim belt. He and his coach Fernand Lopez are very familiar with Ngannou and his fighting style. They all trained together for some time before Ngannou left. Lopez has spoken numerously about how they know Ngannou’s tendencies and are ready for his fighting style.
Gane has yet to lose in his career. He burst onto the UFC scene just three years ago and has been turning heads ever since. If he can beat Ngannou and claim the heavyweight strap, that will not be the end of this “game.” In fact, Gane could find himself in a “murderers row” of fighters waiting to try their hand at the new boss. Waiting in the wings for the champion come Jan. 23 are former champion Stipe Miocic and former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Who do you think will win and become the UFC’s “final boss” at heavyweight on Jan. 22, Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane?
Tai Tuivasa believes Ciryl Gane is the real deal and is the new breed of heavyweights, but isn’t sure if he beats Francis Ngannou this soon.
In the main event of UFC 270, Francis Ngannou is looking to defend his heavyweight title for the first time…
Tai Tuivasa believes Ciryl Gane is the real deal and is the new breed of heavyweights, but isn’t sure if he beats Francis Ngannou this soon.
In the main event of UFC 270, Francis Ngannou is looking to defend his heavyweight title for the first time against the interim champ, Ciryl Gane. It’s a fascinating fight due to the fact they are former training partners and both are phenomenal fighters.
Ngannou has the one-punch KO power while Gane is a technical striker and is hard to hit. Gane has rarely been touched in the UFC, but Ngannou only needs to land one. For Tuivasa, he believes Gane has the skills to avoid that shot.
“Yeah, they are two freaks. You know what I mean. I think I have said the other day…I think if Ciryl plays the long game at points and can stay away from Francis, I think he might win over the five rounds,” Tuivasa said on InsideFighting (via Sportskeeda). “But that’s harder than it sounds, you know what I mean. If Francis touches him or lands one of those massive shots, I think we’ve all seen what Fancis does. He might put him out. Like, that’s, again, another 50-50.
“Ciryl’s a nice guy, but I think Francis might get it. I’m not sure but I’m gonna go with Francis. But Ciryl Gane is a new breed of heavyweights for sure.”
Francis Ngannou, Ciryl Gane
The current betting odds have the fight between Ngannou and Gane as a pick’em, so Tuivasa is right in saying it is a 50-50 fight and a hard one to call. But, we will all find out on January 22 who becomes the new heavyweight champ.
Tai Tuivasa, meanwhile, is coming off a KO win over Augusto Sakai at UFC 269 to make him the 11th-ranked heavyweight. He’s now riding a four-fight winning streak as he also KO’d Greg Hardy in July and Harry Hunsucker in March. To start 2022, he will be facing Derrick Lewis next month at UFC 271.
Who do you think wins between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane?
Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane has responded to Francis Ngannou’s suggestion that the UFC set up their awkward backstage interaction in November.
Ngannou and Gane are set to headline the UFC 270 pay-per-view on January 22. Their collis…
Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane has responded to Francis Ngannou’s suggestion that the UFC set up their awkward backstage interaction in November.
Ngannou and Gane are set to headline the UFC 270 pay-per-view on January 22. Their collision course was set up after “Bon Gamin” won interim gold against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 last August. Having not competed since his title-winning performance last March, the upcoming clash of former teammates will be Ngannou’s first defense.
The meeting in question took place at Madison Square Garden on November 5. While Ngannou was in attendance to support his friend and fellow African champion Kamaru Usman, Gane and Lopez were cornering rising middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov.
After Imavov defeated Edmen Shahbazyan, the MMA Factory group was backstage when “The Predator” was filmed walking towards them. Instead of acknowledging his former coach and training partners, the heavyweight titleholder strode past, a move that was later criticized by both Gane and Lopez.
“There was this lady taking us to our seat. And she was bringing us to this section, and then they talked to her over the radio. And then [she said], ‘Oh, sorry, I’m wrong.’ So she turned around and we get back [and Gane and Lopez are standing right there]. I mean, tell me how this can be a coincidence.”
Discussing his upcoming opponent’s claim that the UFC 268 interaction could have been created by the promotion, the Frenchman asserted the theory is “wrong.”
“The people like to say everything was managed for this meeting (to happen), and that’s wrong. I think it’s wrong,” said Gane. “Because there are no cameras, there are nobody, and we just did a lot of interviews for Nassourdine Imavov, and we were just waiting for the elevators and at the same time, he comes, at the same time. There was no camera, when the people say Francis hung out by the elevator, the guy (filming) picked up his phone and just do that (started recording). It was a phone, it was not a camera, it was not something like that. For me, I’m not sure it was (a controlled meeting).”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWo0AecBPon/
While the UFC is set to return this weekend with a card headlined by Giga Chikadze and Calvin Kattar, most of the January intrigue is pointed towards the battle of former teammates and different heavyweight styles a week later.
