The Predator has evolved. Francis Ngannou has long been a very scary man, but his heavyweight title unification bout on Saturday night at UFC proved he is even scarier now. In addition to his hands of steel, the champion displayed a wrestling ability not seen in any of his previous fights as he defeated a former teammate (maybe?) Ciryl Gane by decision in the main event slot of the evening.
The Frenchman came into the fight 10-0 and looked to have Ngannou on the back foot after two rounds, but the Cameroon-born fighter fought back and used his ground to turn the fight around and clinch his very first title defense after winning the belt back in March of last year. After the decision had been read, Ngannou, who is now on a champion’s clause in his contract, said he had been dealing with a knee injury but persisted anyway with the bout against a very dangerous opponent. In the co-main event, the flyweight title was also on the line, and that match, too, went to a decision. Deiveson Figueiredo took on Brandon Moreno for the third time, and he won to reclaim the throne he had lost to the Mexican superstar in a very close, dramatic fight that went all 25 minutes. The pair now have a 1-1-1 record against each other, and that led to Figueiredo stating he was ready for an unprecedented fourth bout to be held in Mexico.
