5 times that former sparring partners faced off for UFC gold
Despite various teams of fighters dominating the UFC over the years, MMA is almost entirely an individual sport, with fighters clearly putting their own interests at the front of the queue.
Over the years, it’s unsurprising that we’ve seen a number of UFC title fights take place between former sparring partners. These fights have often produced legendary rivalries.
With another major UFC title clash between a pair of former sparring partners set to go down later this month at UFC 270, it’s safe to say that there will be plenty more of these kinds of fights to come.
(via @mmafactory_fr)Once training partners, Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou could be future opponents if Gane is able to capture the interim heavyweight title at #UFC265 🏆 (via @mmafactory_fr) https://t.co/pr2WH2c6km
So with that considered, here are five times former sparring partners faced off for UFC gold.
#5. Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane – UFC 270
UFC 270 is set to add another chapter to the story of former sparring partners facing off for UFC gold, as Francis Ngannou will put his UFC heavyweight title on the line against interim champion Ciryl Gane.
Not only does the fight sound like a potential all-time great UFC title bout, as Ngannou and Gane have a combined record in the octagon of 18-2, but the fact that the two big men have trained together makes it an even more intriguing clash.
Often, fights between two former sparring partners pit former friends against one another. However, according to Gane, he was never close with ‘The Predator’.
From what has been suggested, that’s because by the time ‘Bon Gamin’ began to really focus on his MMA career, Ngannou had already moved to Las Vegas. However, at that point, the current UFC champion was still a part of Paris’ MMA Factory team under coach Fernand Lopez.
Following his loss to Stipe Miocic in 2018, though, ‘The Predator’ cut his ties with Lopez and the team in a pretty bitter fashion. He moved to the U.S. full time and joined the Xtreme Couture gym.
Since then, Gane has more than established himself as the top heavyweight at MMA Factory. He set up his fight with Ngannou by defeating Derrick Lewis for the interim UFC heavyweight title last year.
With just a few weeks to go before this major clash, things have already gotten personal. Ngannou recently hit out at Gane and his team for releasing sparring footage that seemingly showed ‘Bon Gamin’ getting the better of the champion.
Francis Ngannou says sparring videos with Ciryl Gane paint a false picture: ‘They’re really good at manipulation’ mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/12/franci…
Whether that ends up being the case at UFC 270, only time will tell, but this fight definitely promises to be a big one.