Both of UFC 270’s title fights have very interesting storylines that go beyond what’s happened inside the Octagon.
It’s been well documented that Ngannou entered the UFC and found success under the MMA Factory Paris banner. Head coach Fernand Lopez and Ngannou decided to go their separate ways after Ngannou moved to Las Vegas. On a visit back to the MMA Factory Paris he had a few training sessions with Gane, who was fighting in the TKO promotion in Canada at the time.
It became very clear, very quickly that Gane was special and that he is a real threat to Ngannou’s title. Around that time, sparring footage of Ngannou and Gane was released, fueling speculation.
So, to serve it up in a simple way, there is plenty of background noise in this fight. It will be interesting to see which fighter can block out that noise, rise to the occasion and leave the Honda Center with that belt around their waist.
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In the flyweight title fight, Moreno and Figueiredo have shared the Octagon twice and know each other very well. With one title fight draw and one clear-cut result, legacies are on the line for each of them. The added storyline to this fight came when Figueiredo moved to Arizona to start working with Henry Cejudo.
The former flyweight and bantamweight champion used to be close friends and training partners with Moreno; they even lived together for a time. But then Moreno moved to Las Vegas and assisted Joe Benavidez in preparing for a fight with Cejudo. That created a little drama and Figueiredo, who spent these four months away from his family in AZ with Cejudo, wants to help ‘Triple C’ get revenge.
It’s a dynamic that no one saw coming, but it certainly is something that’s on the mind of the challenger.
Don’t miss a single strike of the first pay-per-view of 2022 at UFC 270: Ngannou vs Gane, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on ESPN+. Prelims begin at 6pm ET/3pm PT. Main card begins at 10pm ET/7pm PT.