UFC 270: Pros react to Francis Ngannou using grappling to edge out Ciryl Gane

See what fellow UFC fighters thought of Francis Ngannou, as he defeated Ciryl Gane to remain heavyweight champion at UFC 270

While most associate Francis Ngannou with his striking power, it’s takedowns and grappling that lead him to a unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 270, retaining the UFC heavyweight championship in the process.

The clinch highlighted the opening frame of the fight, as the two did quite a lot of battling in the clinch. Both landed inside, especially Ngannou with short power shots, as the two battled for control.

Gane stayed on the outside during the second round, landing kicks and staying out of Ngannou’s range as much as he could. Ngannou struggled to get his power going and appeared to be losing wind.

The fight reached an interesting turning point in the third round, scoring two takedowns on Gane and holding ground control on the challenger throughout the first half of the third round. Ngannou got one more takedown at the end of the third, though Gane nearly had a kimura. Ngannou scored another takedown on Gane in the fourth and stayed in top control from that point forward.

The final round featured a lot of wrestling and submission work. Gane scored the takedown but went for a leg lock, which led to Ngannou taking back top control and never giving it up again, even going for a choke in that final frame before the horn.

Fighters react to Francis Ngannou defeating Ciryl Gane and becoming undisputed UFC heavyweight champion