Watch: Kamaru Usman joins Francis Ngannou's camp to help him prepare for Ciryl Gane fight

Kamaru Usman (left) with Francis Ngannou (right) [Image Courtesy: @francisngannou via Instagram]

Francis Ngannou is preparing for his highly-anticipated title unification bout against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. This will be Ngannou's first title defense since winning the belt. it could very well be the hardest fight of the champion's MMA career thus far.

'The Predator' is looking to cement his status as the best heavyweight on the planet. He has the support of welterweight champion and UFC pound-for-pound best fighter Kamaru Usman. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' is helping Ngannou prepare for the bout and will be in the champion's corner at UFC 270.

Watch Kamaru Usman make a cameo on an episode of UFC 270 Embedded below:

Francis Ngannou, a native of Cameroon, is one of the three reigning African-born champions in the UFC alongside Kamaru Usman and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Never once in the history of UFC has there been three African-born champions at the same time before now. This has obviously created a special bond between the three fighters.

'The Nigerian Nightmare' previously cornered Ngannou in his title-winning bout against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. He will be in the same spot at UFC 270 when the champ takes on 'Bon Gamin'.

"Look at my boy!"

It was impossible not to be happy for @Francis_Ngannou on Saturday 🏆

[ 🎥 #UFC260 T&A Preview: bit.ly/3wfFBeR ] https://t.co/8WqXnmBfOT

Kamaru Usman documented the heavyweight champ @francis_ngannou weighing in at 257 pounds 📲 #UFC270 https://t.co/2U4QaMEmwA

Francis Ngannou also tried to get Israel Adesanya onboard for UFC 270 bout against Ciryl Gane

While Francis Ngannou will once again have the support of his good friend Kamaru Usman, 'The Predator' revealed that he tried to get 'The Last Stylebender' involved with his upcoming showdown against Gane as well:

"It's really hard for me to make a clear statement on Izzy because it's going to be emotional, you know. I took Izzy as a brother so things that I say about him might not be considered by somebody but I say, he's a great guy, the best striker in the game. By the way, I tried to get him for this training camp, but travel restrictions with New Zealand wasn't really helpful for us so we couldn't make it. But he would have loved to come here and help me for the striking part of the game, the footwork and everything."

Watch Francis Ngannou talk about Israel Adesanya in the video below:

The upcoming bout will be a huge test for 'The Predator' as he takes on Ciryl Gane - a more technical fighter with an undefeated record of 10-0 in MMA. The two heavyweights are set to clash at UFC 270 which takes place on January 22 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.