Israel Adesanya gives his prediction for Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane at UFC 270
Israel Adesanya has given his predictions for the upcoming main event clash between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 this Saturday.
Unsurprisingly, 'The Last Stylebender' picked his close friend Ngannou to retain the UFC heavyweight crown. However, Adesanya believes 'The Predator' has his work cut out for him. During an episode of his Stylebender Breakdown YouTube show, the UFC middleweight champ said:
"My prediction is Francis by knockout in the... I'll say second or third round. I'll be lying if I told you it was an easy fight, it was an easy task, because like I said, cerebral Ciryl Gane is no f***ing joke. I feel like he's the biggest threat to Francis' heavyweight crown. No one else comes even close."
The Kiwi fighter also shared what he believes are the keys to victory for both competitors. For Gane, Adesanya thinks utilizing footwork is essential to avoid getting hit by Ngannou's volcanic punching power. Meanwhile, 'The Last Stylebender' believes Ngannou needs to stay calm and patient to effectively land his fight-ending punches.
Watch Israel Adesanya's preview of UFC 270: Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane:
Francis Ngannou reveals he knocked out Ciryl Gane in practice
The history between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane is a huge part of the narrative of their fight heading into UFC 270. A while back, a video of Gane getting the better of Ngannou during a sparring session made the rounds on social media.
Safe to say Francis Ngannou and Fernand Lopez remember sparring sessions with Ciryl Gane differently.. 😅
#UFC270 | Saturday | BT Sport 2 HD https://t.co/fVxOtWBysP
However, Ngannou claimed there was other footage of him accidentally knocking out 'Bon Gamin' during a different sparring session. According to the heavyweight champ, his former coach Fernand Lopez has been keeping the video under wraps. During UFC 270 media day, Ngannou told reporters:
"I knocked him out [with] a left high kick. There’s a lot of reasons why that footage didn’t come out. Well, let me say this, that knockout wasn’t a voluntary knockout. It wasn in sparring, It was an accident. I didn’t intend to knock him out. I didn’t go there to knock him out. So personally, it’s not something that I would be proud of and feel tough because I knocked my sparring partner out or knocked him down or whatever," said Ngannou.