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Francis Ngannou suffered an injured knee going into his highly anticipated title unifier against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. 'The Predator' recently revealed that the injury was a constant cause of concern for him ahead of the bout.
According to Ngannou, he was advised to pull out of the fight during a visit to the doctor on the Tuesday leading up to the fight. However, the champion turned down the doctor's advice, which he believes was the point of no return. Ngannou recently said on his YouTube channel:
"At that time I am thinking of winning the fight. I mean you have nothing else. But I was also a little,'Uh, I hope I'm gonna be fine'. I couldn't stop thinking about my knee though. It was very strong mentally to fight against that. Basically, I last saw a doctor on Tuesday and he was telling me, 'My recommendation once again is for you to call off the fight.' Like, 'Thank you for your time, for your advice but I think I'm moving on with this. Then that was the last moment. As soon as I say that there wasn't another option anymore. It was like, 'You are going to fight'."
Watch Francis Ngannou weigh in on his knee injury below:
Francis Ngannou will have to undergo surgery
Francis Ngannou surprised fans and pundits alike by adopting a wrestling-heavy approach against Ciryl Gane in the main-event at UFC 270. The renowned power puncher successfully outgrappled Gane to pick up a dominant decision win.
After the bout, it was revealed that Ngannou had suffered a torn MCL and a damaged ACL during sparring sessions. The Cameroonian's manager, Marquel Martin, also revealed that the champion will likely undergo surgery before his return to the octagon.
Martin told ESPN:
"I continue to be amazed and inspired by Francis' heart and resilience. Fighting on one leg to overcome all odds, and remind the world he is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I think we can all agree he deserves some time to go back home and be with his family and countrymen. Upon his return, we plan on getting surgery and starting the recovery process so we can get him back to 100 percent as soon as possible."
