The anticipated title unification bout between UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and interim champ Ciryl Gane has a date penciled in.
Ngannou (16-3) and Gane (10-3) are expected to serve as the main event of UFC 270 on January 22, 2022. French publication La Sueur was first to report the date, which has not yet been announced by the promotion.
Ngannou will be making his first title defense in the fight. He last competed in March at UFC 260, knocking out Stipe Miocic to claim the belt. The win not only secured “The Predator” his first UFC championship, but also earned him a third straight Performance of the Night bonus.
At 11-2 in the UFC overall, Ngannou is one of the most feared heavyweights in the promotion’s history, thanks to unparalleled knockout power. All eleven of those wins came inside the distance, 10 via KO/TKO alongside a single submission. Ngannou has also won six Performance of the Night bonuses overall.
Gane is undefeated in his career to date, with seven of his ten wins coming inside the octagon. He claimed interim gold against Derrick Lewis back in August, a title fight that came as something of a surprise given Ngannou had fought as recently as March. Nevertheless, the former TKO heavyweight champion is the clear-cut #1 contender for Ngannou, after dispatching names like Junior Dos Santos, Alexander Volkov, and Derrick Lewis.
The following bouts have been reported for the UFC 270 card thus far:
Francis Ngannou (C) vs. Ciryl Gane (IC)
Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier
Alexey Oleynik vs. Greg Hardy
AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Wellington Turman
Ji Yeon Kim vs. Poliana Botelho
