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Yes. Even though he beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, Francis Ngannou was injured weeks before heading into the main event bout in California.
Ngannou beat Gane via unanimous decision after five rounds of fighting at the pay-per-view event.
It's no secret that Ngannou and the UFC have been involved in a tussle over the former's contract details for a long time.
'The Predator' stated that he didn't want to lose control of the contract negotiations by pulling out of the UFC 270 title bout, so he decided to fight despite the injury:
"My only concern was this will keep going for over months again, and then I’m losing control of the talk and everything. Like, no, this is not happening."
Watch Ngannou speak about his UFC 270 injury here:
Francis Ngannou suffered damage to his MCL and ACL weeks before fighting at UFC 270. The UFC heavyweight champion is reportedly targeting a March return but currently hasn't booked a bout in the organization.
However, it seems the UFC is keen to make a bout between Ngannou and Jon Jones. The UFC is eyeing a March 5 bout at UFC 285 for 'Bones' heavyweight debut, which would line up well with the heavyweight champion's schedule.
Curtis Blaydes is also said to be an option for Jones. However, Blaydes is much more keen on fighting for the title. Blaydes could also be an option for Ngannou should the Jones bout fail to materialize.
Watch Chael Sonnen speak about Blaydes fighting Jon Jones here:
Who was the first fighter to defeat Francis Ngannou in professional MMA?
Francis Ngannou has an impressive professional MMA record of 17 wins and 3 losses. He made his pro debut back in 2013.
However, the UFC heavyweight champion doesn't have a flawless resume, first losing against Zoumana Cisse at 100% Fight: Contenders 21 in 2013, with Cisse beating 'The Predator' via unanimous decision.
Ngannou remained unbeaten between 2014 and 2017 but suffered his first UFC loss when taking on heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. This loss clearly destabilized 'The Predator', with Ngannou going on to lose his next bout against Derrick Lewis at UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier.
Both of these losses came via unanimous decision, and it's the only time the 36-year-old has lost back-to-back professional MMA outings.
However, Francis Ngannou is currently on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC, beating Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Stipe Miocic, and Ciryl Gane in that order.
