In an incredible turn of events, the UFC’s king of the fast knockout saved his heavyweight championship with his wrestling game.
Francis Ngannou of Las Vegas, by way of Cameroon, dropped the first two rounds of his UFC 270 main event against Frenchman Ciryl Gane.
Francis Ngannou wrestles way to victory in UFC 270 main event
However, Ngannou (17-3) then used takedowns and top control over the final three rounds to eke out a unanimous decision at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and retain his belt. The judges’ scores were 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 to mark the first decision victory of “The Predator’s” career.
Gane (10-1), a kickboxer, used kicks and excellent range management over the first two rounds to keep Ngannou and his outrageous power punchin in check. In the third, the champ used a huge slam to alter the fight, and followed it with a judo throw later in the round. In the fourth, Ngannou used another takedown to stymie Gane.
In the fifth, Gane scored a takedown, but Ngannou used a sweep to take top position and control the fight over the rest of the round to seal the victory.
Deiveson Figueiredo regains flyweight gold in another closely contested title fight with Brandon Moreno
The evening’s co-feature bout was the rare case where a trilogy fight was not the concluding matchup between a pair of fighters. In a sensational bout, Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil won a razor-thin affair with Mexico’s Brandon Moreno to regain the UFC flyweight title. The judges’ scores were 48-47 across the board for a unanimous decision.
The bout was a 25-minute whirlwind, Moreno (19-6-2) landed more often, but Figueiredo (21-2-1) landed harder shots and scored more knockdowns, including one in a frantic and close final round that very well may have spelled the difference on the scorecards.
With the victory, the duo is now tied at 1-1-1. Their first bout at UFC 256 ended with Figueiredo retaining the championship via majority draw. Moreno took the title via third-round submission at UFC 263.
With the win in the third fight, Figueiredo became the first two-time UFC flyweight champion with the win. He indicated after the fight he was willing to give Moreno a fourth-right rematch to settle things.
UFC 270 performance bonus winners
Fight of the night: Deiveson Figueiredo vs Brandon Moreno
Performance of the night: Vanessa Demopoulos
Performance of the night: Said Nurmagomedov
–Field Level Media
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