5 reasons why Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane represents the best of combat sports

#4. Champion vs. Champion: Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane will battle for undisputed supremacy

Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane will battle for undisputed gold at UFC 270. Title-unification bouts in the UFC heavyweight division represent a lot more than the crowning of an undisputed champion. They determine who holds the title of ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’.

The victor will emerge as the best fighter on the planet, period. Forget the whole hypothetical pound-for-pound debate. The undisputed UFC heavyweight champion is the best fighter in the world.

Ngannou believes he is the sole holder of such a title and has discredited his opponent’s interim belt. He shared his live reaction to Gane’s interim title-winning performance, which you can watch below:

Francis Ngannou secured the belt following a stunning knockout victory over Stipe Miocic in a rematch at UFC 260 and was slated to take on No.1 contender Derrick Lewis in his first title defense. However, following a conflict of interest between the Cameroonian heavyweight and the UFC, Ciryl Gane stepped in to replace the champion and an interim belt was put up for grabs.

Gane went on to win the interim heavyweight title in Houston at UFC 265 with a comfortable TKO win over Lewis to set up one of the most interesting match-ups in the history of the sport.

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#3. Former student vs. Current student of Fernand Lopez: The history, drama and familiarity with one another

As discussed earlier, Francis Ngannou opted to leave Paris and move to Las Vegas following his first loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. Since the split, Ngannou and his former coach Fernand Lopez have traded barbs online, with ‘The Predator’ accusing Lopez of only wanting to be famous.

Lopez, in response, slammed Ngannou for his lack of gratitude towards his gym, the MMA Factory. He criticized his former pupil for being ungrateful and shared that there was only one instance where Ngannou thanked him and his gym. Moreover, Lopez claimed Ngannou had to be reminded to give his coaches credit.

During his appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Lopez gave his take on Francis Ngannou's apparent lack of appreciation for his team. He said:

"Do you know how sad this is? Do you know that if you find a fighter in UFC and you want to check a video of him saying 'thank you' to his gym, you will have 10 thousand videos of each fighter. Do you know that? The thing that fighters say most in their lives is, 'Thank you to my coach. Thank you to my gym.'? This is [supposed to be] a reflex."

Watch Fernand Lopez discuss his feud with Francis Ngannou below:

Following a switch of gyms, Francis Ngannou went on an incredible tear through the heavyweight rankings.

He knocked out Curtis Blaydes (for the second time), Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, all inside the first round, to earn another shot at Miocic’s belt at UFC 260, where he emerged victorious.

Interestingly, Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane have trained together at the MMA Factory in Paris on a few occasions. Gane was still competing in Canada’s TKO MMA promotion at the time while Ngannou was in the UFC.

Videos of sparring sessions between the two have spread like wildfire online leading up to their massive championship bout at UFC 270.

At UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden, New York City, there was an icy encounter between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane backstage. Ngannou walked past his former teammate and didn’t even bother to look at him, let alone say anything.

Gane, who was standing next to his coach Fernand Lopez, seemed shocked that Ngannou didn’t even acknowledge him.

Ngannou later revealed that he had nothing against Gane. Rather, he chose not to say anything as his former coach was right there.