UFC 270: Ngannou vs Gane - Jan 22 🇺🇸

[Kfogg1991]

Jesus fucking christ this has to be up there for a recent PPV card taking a utter beating in the run up to the event. It was only a couple of days ago I got got card running order off Twitter and the fight pass prelims had 4 fights on it. 

Anyway that aside I'm genuinely so excited for this show tonight. The last 3 fights are up there for me in terms of really getting my attention. 

I have so much love for Michele periera, his style is fucking unreal and he never fails to give you at least a couple of highlight reel moments during his fights.

In terms of the two title fights I'm going with both champions retaining the belts however I'm saying the Francis gets the job done by knock out within the first 3 rounds. That guy is a scary monster on a normal occasion, now he has this huge chip on his shoulder and genuinely feels disrespected and pissed off with how he's been treated that makes it a whole different level of man he will be tonight. Gane is a fantastic fighter but in my opinion Francis is that much better and is a more evolved fighter since even a couple of years ago with the first stipe fight 

[Cousin Jim Bob]

Like others I'm pumped for the two title fights but this is now very much a watch on Sunday afternoon card now.

[Kfogg1991]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT 

Well what can you honestly say after that main event!! Francis looked off his game slightly at first, obviously he was wearing the knee support which he's never had before and lost the first 2 rounds.....but fucking hell from there on in it became something nobody expected and Francis became the first person to ever take down Ciril Gane but he didn't just do it once he took him down like 6 times!! 

Absolutely over the moon with him retaining and now he becomes the CM punk of the ufc.

The co main was also fantastic however I do not agree with the judges at all. It was very back and forth but I genuinely believe Moreno won 3 rounds and retained. I am not one of those that jump on the internet when someone I like loses and scream he was robbed, he was robbed but tonight is that fucking night.

 

Rest of the card was fucking amazing and I'm so glad I stayed up to watch it however it's gone so late and we are only 1 interview on the post fight press conference. I'm fucking excited too see Dana white on it because I'm genuinely so fucking angry and disappointed with him for not going in the cage to present Francis with the belt. Scumbag move 

[Kfogg1991]

Wow so not only did Dana white not be there in the cage after the fight to present Francis with the belt but he also didn't come out at the post fight press conference which is the first PPV press conference he hasn't come out to speak to the media in a long long time 

[wandshogun09]

Hilarious. Francis Ngannou not only retains the title, he does it in a way which will have Dana absolutely raging. What a man.

Francis Ngurmadogomedou is gonna be some puzzle to solve!

I’m a big fan of Ciryl Gane. As a fighter and he seems a nice guy. But I love that Ngannou got it done and is still the champ. If he’d lost this fight you just know that’d be him out the door and Dana would’ve been all smug and gloating at the press conference and saying ‘good riddance’ as he trashed him on his way out. It also would’ve severely hurt Ngannou’s bargaining power if he does want to try go and get them few Boxing paydays. Now whatever happens next, even if this is it for Francis in the UFC, he’s in a much stronger position to negotiate. Even though the fight wasn’t the most exciting we’ve ever seen, he held onto the belt and that’s the main thing. If he sits out now until he can take a Boxing match, him going in as the UFC champion who never lost his belt will be a big part of the promotional bells and whistles. As much as I’d like him to stick around in MMA, the Heavyweight division really can’t afford to lose good fighters, I don’t blame him at all if he goes and fights elsewhere. Especially in light of Dana being a fucking baby post-fight, refusing to put the belt on him and no-showing the press conference because he didn’t get the result he wanted. Bollocks to him. Plus, people forget but Boxing was actually Ngannou’s first love. Obviously the potential money he could make is the main factor but I don’t think a move to Boxing is just a cash grab for Francis. He wanted to be a Boxer first, but MMA was the opportunity that came first.

Gane can bounce back but this was a disaster for him really. Of course, Ngannou’s improving his all around MMA game and he showed against Stipe last time that he’s been putting the work in to fill the gaps in his overall skill set. But to get outwrestled by Ngannou like that isn’t a good sign. Then again, it’s the last thing anyone expected out of Ngannou, including Gane probably. It was a bit of a genius tactic by Ngannou. Obviously part out of necessity because of his knee injury but also the old element of surprise is big and you just know the last thing Gane and Fernand Lopez were focusing on in camp for this specific fight was takedown defence. If anyone was going to go the grappling route in this one, you’d have bet on it being Gane. In hindsight it was a very smart move by Ngannou because on the feet he obviously still could’ve won but he’d have had to just hunt for the KO and there’s a high chance Gane might’ve just stuck and moved and outpointed him. The first couple of rounds were basically how I thought the whole fight might go. But the wresting being thrown in was a complete game changer and it worked a treat.

Figgy and Moreno then.

These two are actually incapable of having a bad fight together, aren’t they? Another really close one and I’d have to watch it again but I felt like Figgy did enough on my first watch. Just. When it was over I really wasn’t sure who won and wouldn’t have had an issue whoever got the nod. But I felt like Figgy edged it. Thought the leg kicks were a big factor and he also dropped Moreno a few times. The commentary made it seem like Moreno was running away with it but I disagreed. Could’ve gone either way. This sums it up about as good as it’s possible to sum it up for me.

They’re now 1-1-1. A fourth fight is inevitable and I’m not at all against it. But I really hope it’s not next. As great a series as it’s been, I think it could do with a breather. I saw someone, think it was Marcel Dorff, suggest Figgy defend against the winner of Askarov/Kara France next, and do Moreno vs Pantoja again. I’d be up for that. Great fights all around. But I suspect they’ll go straight into the fourth fight. Because Pantoja likely beats Moreno again and that kills the potential Fig vs Moreno tie breaker dead for a bit.

Figgy’s back on the throne for now though. What a rivalry. Purely on fight quality, it’s got to be up there with the greatest series in MMA history now. Even Melendez vs Thomson had that so-so first fight before finishing their series out with two bangers. Only trilogy I think could’ve pipped it would’ve been Alvarez vs Chandler but we missed out on the third fight and now it’s almost certainly never happening. When it’s all said and done, the Figueiredo vs Moreno series might go down as the best. 

Thought Pereira vs Fialho was the bollocks. Maybe the best Pereira has looked as an overall performance since he signed with the UFC. His striking was on point and I actually thought his conditioning held up better than we’ve seen in the past. He seemed to get the balance right here between still being whacky and unpredictable enough to keep his opponent guessing but reigning it in just enough to not completely gas himself out in the process. Thought Fialho fought well also, given the late notice. You get the feeling there’s better to come from him. 

Said Nurmagomedov made short work of a tough guy in Cody Stamann. Never expected a quick fight either way out of this. Thought it’d end up being a gruelling, grinding type of fight. 47 seconds and it was done and dusted. The only man who’d ever finished Stamann before last night was Aljamain Sterling, so Said’s put himself in good company. Should be a biggish fight ahead for him next. 

Michael Morales vs Trevin Giles turned out to be the ideal main card opener. Short and sweet, twists and turns and a big finish.

Already seeing people get carried away on Twitter, with some already saying he’s a better prospect than Khamzat Chimaev. You never know, he might turn out to be in time but it’s way too soon to say. A fighter comes in with a nice shiny unbeaten record, a fan friendly style and Dana bigging them up and social media gets silly with it. Don’t get me wrong he definitely looks worth keeping an eye on. But time will tell. He got dropped by Trevin Giles here (and briefly caught in a choke) who’s decent but nothing special, so I’m not ready to declare him a future champ or anything just yet.

Really enjoyed that Victor Henry Vs Raoni Barcelos fight. I can tell Henry’s gonna be one of those guys who’s a highlight of any card he’s on. Such a relentless pace and he’s just non-stop in there. Shades of early Clay Guida and I’m not just talking about the mane of hair. And he’s got Josh Barnett in his corner!

I’m a Barcelos fan and at one point I really thought he might be a future player at 135 but it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna happen now. People talk about him as a prospect but he’s 34 now. In the Bantamweight division that’s quite long in the tooth. Still an exciting fighter to watch and he’ll be in some good scraps but my expectations for him aren’t as high as they once were. Barcelos didn’t look bad at all here but I thought Henry nicked the first round with that late flurry and just outworked him in the second and third. Good fight. 

Really liked what we saw from Jack Della Maddalena in his debut here. Rodriguez was quite inexperienced but he was still unbeaten with all knockouts. He was dangerous, especially as a late replacement. But Maddalena got it done in style. 

That’s an 11 fight win streak for him now. Fun addition to the Welterweight division. I actually quite liked Rodriguez as well, to be fair. Hopefully we get to see him with a full camp next time. Could be some fun scraps to be had with him too. 

Frevola vs Valdez was bananas. About as chaotic a 3 minute fight as you’re gonna get.

Happy to see this for Frevola as well. He badly needed this. Coming off losses, got sat down in 7 seconds by Terrance McKinney last time out and here they threw him in with an undefeated Mexican prospect who was 10-0 with 10 finishes? It really felt like they were trying to push Frevola out the door with this booking but he was like a man possessed and wasn’t gonna be denied. Criminal that these two never got a bonus of any sort. 

That was some comeback by Vanessa Demopoulos. Juarez fucking cracked her with that overhand right and she answered with the armbar. Another wild one rounder. 

Bet Mrs Rogan wasn’t happy with this though. He’ll probably be sleeping on the sofa for a bit. I can’t see Demopoulos doing too well long term but it was entertaining and memorable at least. 

Thought the Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Kay Hansen curtain jerker was decent as well. First time seeing Jasudavicius and it wasn’t a bad debut performance. Hansen had a better third round but just got going a bit too late in the fight and was already 2 rounds down by then. Solid enough fight though. 

Such a great show. People were shitting on it all week and I kind of get why. I’m not gonna sit here and pretend it was a really stacked or deep card. It wasn’t. But while the undercard lacked ‘names’, it was one of those cards where if you did just a little bit of digging, it always had the ingredients for a really fun night of fights. There were a bunch of new faces on here and I get that it’s hard to get hyped up and invested in a card when you’re not familiar with a fair chunk of the guys on there. But for once these weren’t just ham and egger newcomers like we often get on the Fight Nights. The likes of Morales, Maddalena, Valdez etc were all either undefeated or on winning streaks, and all had high finishing rates. Main event wasn’t great but the result and knowing Dana probably threw his dinner up the wall in disgust made it all worthwhile. And I honestly enjoyed the rest of it just as much as pretty much any of those loaded PPVs we got at the end of last year. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by wandshogun09

[Keith Houchen]

7 hours ago, Kfogg1991 said:

Absolutely over the moon with him retaining and now he becomes the CM punk of the ufc.

CM Punk is the CM Punk of the UFC. 

[wandshogun09]

4 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

CM Punk is the CM Punk of the UFC. 

It’s no coincidence that you look at his 2 UFC opponents - Mickey Gall’s never been the same since and Mike Jackson hasn’t fought since. Pepsi drinking beast. 

[theringmaster]

Can anybody explain the Dana/Francis beef to me? Is it all over Francis not doing the fight because of an injury?

 

I got to say I was extremely impressed by Francis, he clearly wasn't fit enough and at the start of round 2 he looked completely shot but he had Warrior spirit in bucket loads. If he can beat Gane on points when he's at 50%, what could he do if he was 100%?

 

Co-Main was an instant contender for fight of the year, I felt the decision was wrong but it was definitely not a robbery, it felt like it could go either way. Bring on fight 4!

[David]

21 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

It’s no coincidence that you look at his 2 UFC opponents - Mickey Gall’s never been the same since and Mike Jackson hasn’t fought since. Pepsi drinking beast. 

Funnily enough, there's a lot that annoys me about Punk but his UFC run isn't part of that long list.

He knew getting into that game, with his history and profile, that he was most likely going to come out the other side looking like a chump. But the dude put the work in, both before leaving WWE and after it. He left no stone unturned, he showed the respect that was due to the sport and the fighters, and he gave it his best shot. Look at him now on AEW, his face shows the scars of those fights. 

He was a guy who didn't need to do that, but he tried. He came up short, of course, but at least he tried. I respect that.

[neil]

I agree David. The worst thing about CM Punk's UFC period was the UFC fans (shocker). The only issue I somewhat agreed with was him jumping ahead of other fighters and being on a main card, but at the same time he was a name and a draw. Ultimately I don't think it really reflected poorly on the UFC, if anything it showed that MMA isn't something you can just "jump into" and that it takes both skill and insane dedication to become a top tier fighter.

[Egg Shen]

What a great show. The heavyweight title fight didnt go as anyone would have thought but it was a good big man MMA fight. Early on i thought Gane was gonna cruise it because Francis appeared discouraged but I think Gane's insistence of staying slight out of range and just touching Ngannou forced Ngannou into a wrestling match which he then won. I think 48-47 was the right score.

Moreno/Figgy have to fight again, brilliant fight. Just thought Moreno let this one slip by, especially in the 5th when there was a long period of inactivity when he should have been looking to steal the round. Moreno seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he stiffened Figgys legs with punches on several occasions.

Outside of the excellent Pereira/Fialho fight, i thought all the winners down the card looked great. All the winners put on performances that make me want to see them fight again.

[Zebra Kid Mark]

I really need to rewatch the co main as I thought on first viewing that Moreno won and I was waiting to see the comments on here and on Twitter about how it was the heist of the century, but I think I am in the minority with this thought, everyone seems to think it was close and it could have gone either way. I will rewatch tonight.

Another one that I also didn't pick up on watching the first time was Gane winning both round 1 and round 2. I had Francis winning 3-5 obviously but I think 1 and 2 were closer than the commentary team made out. What was Gane doing to win those? I can't remember him touching Francis much.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Zebra Kid Mark

[David]

I had Figgy winning it by three rounds to two, but I could have been biased by the fact that I think Moreno looks like a smug prick and spent the fight wanting him to get starched.

[Egg Shen]

I think 48-47 or maybe even 49-46 were fair for Figgy. 

[wandshogun09]

6 hours ago, theringmaster said:

Can anybody explain the Dana/Francis beef to me? Is it all over Francis not doing the fight because of an injury?I

It all stems from behind the scenes contract bullshit. It’s been picking up steam since the summer when Ngannou was supposed to defend the title against Derrick Lewis but they couldn’t agree on a date and the UFC just decided to create an interim belt and do Gane vs Lewis as a ‘fuck you’ to Ngannou. They said it was a disagreement on dates but at the same time Ngannou had been vocal about being unhappy with fighter pay. That rift started around the time when the UFC wanted to do Ngannou vs Jon Jones but didn’t wanna pay what those two wanted for the fight. There’s also been bickering between Dana and Ngannou’s manager apparently. Then recently Ngannou’s been on about wanting to leave the UFC to do some Boxing fights and Dana’s said ‘OK fine go then’, when really he’s anything but fine about it. Then they set up Ngannou vs Gane, clearly hoping Gane would win so they could tell Ngannou to piss off. Which is why when Ngannou won, Dana went backstage and sulked instead of putting the belt on him.

Basically Dana’s a fucking dick who can’t take his stance business wise but still be professional about it. Everything becomes personal with him. 

2 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Just thought Moreno let this one slip by, especially in the 5th when there was a long period of inactivity when he should have been looking to steal the round. Moreno seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he stiffened Figgys legs with punches on several occasions.

Spot on. I watched it again earlier and had it 3-2 to Figgy again. I think Moreno’s gonna look back and regret not capitalising on a few opportunities late in the fight. Really close one and if someone had it for Moreno I won’t argue but I felt like Figgy winning was the right call this time.