"It's ridiculous" - Israel Adesanya claims UFC made interim title as a "power move" to diminish Francis Ngannou

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Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane (left) and Israel Adesanya (right) [Left photo via @francisngannou on IG]

Israel Adesanya is convinced the UFC created an interim title just to spite undisputed heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

Ciryl Gane won the interim heavyweight title just over four months after 'The Predator' dethroned Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. The move to crown an interim titleholder, despite Ngannou being neither injured nor inactive, raised a lot of eyebrows.

Adesanya is among those who believe Gane's coronation was nothing more than a negotiating tactic by the UFC. During an episode of his Stylebender Breakdown YouTube show, the middleweight champ argued:

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"That had [something] to do with a power move to try and diminish Francis' accomplishments. It's ridiculous! After four months of being a champion, there's no way there should be an interim title. Not taking anything from Ciryl – great fighter, cool dude. But there was no need for an interim title. This should've been a fight as Ciryl, the challenger, for the heavyweight crown. But now they have an interim title, it kinda looks cool with the posters and whatnot."

Ngannou, of course, is currently entangled in a contract dispute with the UFC. 'The Predator' threatened – that win or lose – he'd leave the promotion unless he's offered a contract he's happy with.

Watch Israel Adesanya give his take on the upcoming UFC 270 event below:

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Israel Adesanya analyses Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

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Israel Adesanya put his analyst hat on when he provided a breakdown of Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane.

'The Last Stylebender' believes that Gane's path to victory hinges on his footwork. Adesanya stated that 'Bon Gamin' needs to mix up his attacks and avoid taking Ngannou's heavy blows. He said:

"If I was Ciryl, methods of victory, footwork. That's going to be his saving grace. Mixing it up. And I mean mixing it up as in like even takedowns just to show something else. And just mixing up his strikes as well."

Meanwhile, Adesanya thinks Ngannou needs to stay calm and patient if he hopes to defend his title. The Kiwi fighter advised the Cameroonian to use feints as well as diversify his attacks to keep Gane honest. According to Adesanya:

"Francis' methods of victory: staying calm, staying patient, feint. But you have to do the right feints, not just the same feints. You have to mix up the feints as well and also mix up the attack."

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