"The power is real" - Ciryl Gane hurts coach Fernand Lopez after throwing stinging leg kick in training

Ciryl Gane is looking as sharp as ever with the countdown to UFC 270 this weekend well underway.

On Saturday night, Ciryl Gane will challenge Francis Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight championship. The masses are dubbing it one of the biggest heavyweight showdowns in years - both literally and figuratively.

The two men have known one another for years and were even teammates at one stage in their careers. Fernand Lopez has witnessed their rise up close and personal. While some feel as if he's become too involved in their feud, others believe it's only added to the story.

In a recent post on Instagram, Lopez showed off a recent session with his student Gane.

"A hard, fascinating and gratifying job... but hard nevertheless. The Power is real ladies and gentlemen."

Lopez has seen many talented students in his day, but something tells us Ngannou and Gane stand head and shoulders above the rest.

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How did Ciryl Gane earn the title shot?

Ciryl Gane is the interim UFC heavyweight champion. He beat Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov to earn a shot at gold at UFC 265. On that night in Houston, he defeated Derrick Lewis via TKO to set up this blockbuster unification bout.

Gane is one of the most technical fighters in the history of the heavyweight division. The rise he's enjoyed since debuting in the UFC has been nothing short of tremendous.

Francis Ngannou, meanwhile, hasn't actually competed inside the octagon since he knocked Stipe Miocic out cold just under a year ago to finally claim the belt.

The big question for months on end has been whether or not the UFC would go in this direction, or if they'd wait and see what was next for former UFC 205-pound king Jon Jones.

If Jones does want to make the jump up, he'll have to wait his turn and watch UFC 270 this weekend along with the rest of us.