UFC 270 LIVE: Ngannou vs Gane fight results and latest updates

A dominant narrative thread ahead of this evening’s main event has been Ngannou’s desire to fight WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, something Ngannou has also referenced in interviews this week.

Fury is seemingly keen on taking on the French-Cameroonian as well.

“Who would like to see me fight this beast, boxing rules @ufc gloves?” Fury tweeted earlier this month, alongside a mock-up poster of himself and Ngannou. The Briton also tagged Ngannou and UFC president Dana White in the tweet.

Ngannou quickly replied to Fury, writing: “How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor.”

Fury was swift in responding, too, tweeting: “You want to come in to my world calling me & [Deontay] wilder out to a boxing match. what i can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! so have a think.”

Ngannou soon replied: “After I handle business [against Gane] on Jan. 22 I’ll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth.”

More here:

While most of the focus ahead of UFC 270 has understandably been on the main event, the co-main event could be a spectacular bout, too.

In December 2020, Brandon Moreno failed to dethrone then-flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo as the pair battled to a majority draw in the main event of UFC 256.

The fan favourite from Mexico took the gold from Figueiredo at UFC 263 last June, however, submitting the Brazilian with a rear naked choke in the third round.

Moreno’s victory followed a stunning performance and marked just the second defeat of Figueiredo’s pro MMA career – and his first via stoppage.

It was also the culmination of a fairytale run for Moreno; the ‘Assassin Baby’ had been released by the UFC in late 2018 after back-to-back losses, before returning to the sport’s flagship promotion in 2019 and battling towards a title shot.

Now, he and Figueiredo will round out the trilogy in this evening’s co-main event, which many expect to deliver fireworks.

Five months after Ngannou dethroned Miocic last March, an interim heavyweight title was created and then contested between Gane and Derrick Lewis.

The bout took place in Houston, giving Lewis the home state advantage, though the American has since said the location added extra pressure.

It certainly did not help the knockout specialist, who was stopped by Gane in the third round after a slick showing from the Frenchman.

Here’s our full report on that fight, which saw Gane go 3-0 for the year, 10-0 overall in his pro MMA career, and become interim UFC heavyweight champion:

Ngannou became UFC heavyweight champion by knocking out Stipe Miocic in the second round last March.

That victory saw Ngannou reverse a humbling result against Miocic from 2018, when the American outwrestled the French-Cameroonian over five rounds in a masterful decision win.

Miocic, the consensus heavyweight GOAT, has not competed since dropping the belt to Ngannou, who has also not fought since.

Ngannou, 35, demonstrated huge improvements in his victory over Miocic, compared to the “Predator”’s showing in the pair’s first clash.

You can read our full report from Miocic vs Ngannou II here:

Check out our useful article below for all the information you need on:

• How to watch UFC 270 online and on TV tonight.

• What time the prelims and main card start in the UK and US.

• The entire fight card from top to bottom, following a number of late-notice changes.

Ngannou is a fighting phenomenon: the honorary ‘baddest man on the planet’ as UFC heavyweight champion, and the most ferocious power-puncher in the promotion’s history.

The French-Cameroonian’s professional mixed martial arts record stands at 16-3, while his UFC record is 11-2 since his debut in 2015 – with 10 of those wins coming via knockout or TKO.

Ngannou, 35, in fact went 6-0 in the company, with five of those victories achieved via KO/TKO and one coming via submission, before he suffered back-to-back decision losses.

The first of those two defeats was a humbling by then-champion Stipe Miocic, but Ngannou worked his way back to the American with four straight-first round KO/TKO wins, before knocking out Miocic in the second round last March to claim the gold at last.

Ahead of tonight’s main event, we’ve ranked of all of Ngannou’s UFC knockouts. Check out our list in the article below – where you can also watch the KOs in question.

If Ngannou were to look in the mirror, he might just see an improbable green glint in the dark pools of his eyes.

Maybe he can already picture the dollars, stacked much higher than his 6ft 3in frame and much wider than those granite shoulders.

For it must be so enticing, the prospect of a crossover bout with the biggest name in boxing, especially for a phenomenon who is severely undervalued by his employers and who started fighting long before he set foot in a ring.

Growing up in poverty in Cameroon, Ngannou began working in sand quarries at the age of 10, later spending time in a Spanish jail after illegally crossing the border en route to Paris, where he eventually wound up homeless. Nothing can match the hunger Ngannou must have felt so often through those years, making his thirst for a super fight with Tyson Fury wholly understandable.

But Ngannou must beware the allure of a titanic clash with Fury, because key to such a contest is the French-Cameroonian’s status as UFC heavyweight champion – something Gane could well shred in the main event of UFC 270 this evening.

Full main event preview here:

Thousands of mixed martial arts fans and analysts have pored over the footage – slowing it down, pausing, rewinding. Just how telling can it be, a short clip of Gane and Ngannou sparring one another?

For many observers, it will be decisive in their predictions for the main event of UFC 270 this weekend, when the two former teammates go head-to-head to unify the heavyweight championship of the world. In one corner will be Ngannou, the most feared puncher in UFC history; in the other will be Gane, the undefeated ambassador of a new breed of MMA heavyweight.

The footage of Ngannou and Gane sparring one another showed the latter largely getting the upper hand, though of course Ngannou was not using the full force that he will bring to Anaheim this weekend. In any case, plenty of time has passed since the duo trained together.

“Since this time we’ve improved, that’s for sure, 100 per cent,” Gane said this week in an interview with The Independent and other publications. “At that time, the feeling was just, ‘I’m really lucky,’ because I’d just started my career in MMA and I could spar with a guy already in the top five.

“It’s going to be different this week, but [training together] has helped me to have a little more confidence, yes.”

Read the full interview here:

One of the biggest narratives heading into tonight’s main event between Ngannou and Gane is the former’s dream of boxing Tyson Fury, who recently called out the UFC heavyweight champion.

In an interview this week, Ngannou told The Independent and other publications: “It very much excites me to fight Fury next. My dream since I was a kid was to become a boxer, but along the way I discovered MMA, which has been great for me. But it still hasn’t taken away that dream of boxing.”

Read the full interview here:

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of UFC 270!

The promotion’s first pay-per-view of the year has been hit by fight cancellations, but it is still set to be topped by two huge title fights.

In the main event, heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou makes the first defence of his belt, taking on interim champion and former teammate Ciryl Gane – who is undefeated at 10-0.

In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo will complete their trilogy of flyweight title bouts. Figueiredo retained the gold in the rivals’ first meeting, in December 2020, as the contest ended as a draw, before Mexican Moreno submitted the Brazilian last June to claim the belt.

We’ll be providing live updates from both of those fights tonight, as well as the rest of the main card and prelims.