Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane heavyweight title unification fight targeted for January
According to the French website La Sueur, a unification fight between heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and interim titleholder Ciryl Gane has been confirmed for UFC 270 on January 22, 2022.
The BT Sport UFC Instagram page shared a poster regarding the same and credited La Sueur, which primarily covers combat sports. The caption read:
"Kicking off 2022 right! According to @lasueur, Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane will meet at UFC 270 on January 22. Who will be the unified heavyweight king?"
See the post below:
Cameroon's Francis Ngannou beat defending champion Stipe Miocic in a rematch at UFC 260 in March this year to claim the heavyweight belt. Meanwhile, undefeated Frenchman Ciryl Gane took down Derrick Lewis to win the interim title at UFC 265 later in August.
Jon Jones wants to face the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane title fight in 2022
Former two-time UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones expressed his desire to move to the heavyweight division last year. He dropped his belt in August 2020 and has since begun gaining weight.
Jones was recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing for his encounter with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in September 2013. During the event, 'Bones' claimed he had his eyes on a heavyweight title fight next, specifically against Francis Ngannou.
"I think it (the heavyweight title fight) will be sometime in the second quarter of 2022. Fighting for the title is what I want the most for sure. I want to fight the biggest fights. If there was someone who was a bigger star than Francis at heavyweight without the title, I would go for them. I think Francis is the biggest star in heavyweight and he has the title. That's what I want," said Jones.
Watch Jon Jones speak about him challenging for the UFC heavyweight championship below:
.@JonnyBones expects to fight for #UFC heavyweight title "sometime in the second quarter" of 2022:
"I'll try to do more legally controversial sh*t so I can sell a little more pay-per-views."
Watch full interview: youtu.be/sB7wlDz_hlk https://t.co/N4KuynPyQ2
The 35-year-old Ngannou holds a 16-3 record in his heavyweight career, while Jones, 34, is 26-1-1NC as a light heavyweight fighter.
Jon Jones was arrested for battery domestic violence against his fiance, and tampering with a police vehicle a few hours after the Hall of Fame ceremony ahead of UFC 266 in Las Vegas.