Francis Ngannou has retained his UFC heavyweight championship belt, after beating former sparring partner Cyril Gane on points. The fight was very close with commentators and mma experts stating that out of the five rounds Ngannou won 3 whilst Gane won the first two. Everyone was shocked to see that Ngannou who normally relies on his power and early knockouts, preferred a more patient approach and wrestled Cyril instead of using his boxing skills.
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The first two rounds were all Cyril Gane. The Frenchman used his quick feet and surprising agility considering his size to his advantage, tiring the heavyweight champion out with many body shots and takedowns. Francis looked very tired after the first two rounds, something which surprised many considering his excellent record in winning fights by early knockouts.
The third and fourth rounds took everyone by surprise as Francis Ngannou looked in control, outwrestling Gane and using his new and improved grappling skills to his advantage. The fifth and last round of the fight seemed to go against the tide, when Cyril Gane managed to take down Ngannou but due to mistakes by Gane, Francis managed to edge out the win on points.
After his win Ngannou confirmed in a post fight interview that he was slightly injured. He told Joe Rogan “It has been a very tough training camp, very tough.” and finished up by saying “A lot of s*** happened. Three weeks ago I hurt my knee. Tore my medial cruciate ligament completely, hurt my ACL and other stuff.”
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