Ngannou vs Ghana: 2022 main event

On the night of January 23, the UFC270 MMA tournament was held in the American city of Anaheim. Some experts believe that this may be the key event of the entire 2022 in “no rules fighting”, despite the fact that it is only the beginning of the year. No surprise, as the event’s centerpiece bout is a title fight among royal heavyweight fighters. Francis Ngannu, who has a full belt, faced Cyril Gan, his longtime gym acquaintance and interim UFC champion.

For Francis, it was his first fight since winning the title. He had handled the US heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic without too much trouble in his last fight. Now he was expected to prove that he is the ultimate heavyweight in the heavyweight division, and that’s for the long haul. Speaking of Ghana, he had an early victory over Derrick Lewis in his previous fight, which resulted in him winning the interim title.

Before the fight, both said they had no doubts about the victory. It was also intriguing that a video of Cyril and Francis’ long-running sparring session had recently surfaced on the internet, with the former having a clear lead over the latter. The Predator later claimed that he had once knocked out the Frenchman in training. Such talk had a significant impact on the background surrounding the fight, causing additional heat.

Anyway, according to bookmaker’s betting odds Gan was a slight favourite. Moreover, most experts believed that Cyril, using his usual manner, would drag out the fight until late rounds, and would probably turn it into a boring ‘chess’ bout.

The start of the fight may have seemed to confirm these expectations. Gan, having made an unsuccessful attempt in the opening round to square off, switched to his favoured tactics. Cyril moved beautifully, executing manoeuvres and changing stances. The Frenchman used low-kicks and quick jabs to score points all the time.

The Cameroonian, on the other hand, appeared to be banking on explosive action. “Traitor” used pressure but was very toothless in his attacks and his swift opponent looked much more active. The second five minutes did not change the picture, and Gan had clearly seized the advantage. Francis, on the other hand, had hardly any shots. He was clearly inferior in the confrontation, but appeared to be waiting for his opponent to make a mistake.

And Ngannou’s plan worked. At the start of the third segment, the Frenchman made an unsuccessful attempt to attack. Francis immediately took advantage of it. He grabbed his opponent and threw him to the floor like a sack of potatoes. There were still three minutes left in the round, so the Cameroonian had the opportunity to press his opponent with his bulk, just wearing him out.

Cyril was still pretty fresh though, so he got up off the canvas. But it was already clear to the classic puncher Francis that he should only look for his chances in this fight. “Traitor” was biding his time to take the bout to the floor, and once again his huge opponent was on the canvas. The wrestling really tired Ghana out and there was little left of his vivacity.

In the fourth five minutes Cyril tried to return to his old tactics. At the beginning of the round he made light attacks in the post, expecting just to score points. But Francis had already realized his opponent’s weakness. The Cameroonian sent him to the floor again and began to fight him. Ngannou used his weight well and squeezed the last of his strength out of his opponent. The Frenchman on the other hand was clearly exhausted and lost.

In the final five minutes the confrontation again took place in the ground. However, this time it was Cyril who initiated the fight, but Francis successfully defended himself. And when Gan tried to twist his heel, it looked like an attempt by a first grader to do the big man even a little harm. At the end, Predator was in control and ended the clash by winning on points.

The spectators witnessed a real masterclass from Francis. He managed to make adjustments to his tactics in the course of the fight and once again proved that he is still an underrated competitor. As it turned out, the Cameroonian fights well, so the entire arsenal of a mixed martial arts fighter is available to him.

Cyril’s cunning tendency to run the entire five-round confrontation in the octagon and accumulate points solely due to his speed advantage all collided with the titanic power of ‘The Betrayer’ and his desire to win. Ngannou has earned the heavyweight championship and it is hoped that such a show will compel the league bosses to continue to work with him by giving him decent contract terms.