Perhaps the biggest heavyweight fight in the history of the UFC is coming up. At the first Pay Per View (PPV) of the year, the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou will fight his for teammate and the current interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. The betting odds are favouring the latter. However, Israel Adesanya sees a path to victory for the reigning champ.
The 185 lbs champion, Israel Adesanya broke down the upcoming fight. On his YouTube channel, he broke down what are the possible tricks Francis Ngannou has to use in the fight to emerge victorious in the contest
However, he praised Ciryl Gane’s abilities and called him a ‘special fighter’. Israel said, “Bon Gamin’s coach is Francis’ ex-coach. A guy like Ciryl will have learnt new tricks that he can use to surprise Francis. He is one of the most impressive fighters I’ve seen emerge in a long time out of nowhere.”
“He is one of those guys, he knows he has it. If you know, you know. When you know, you know. Francis is one of those guys as well.”
Israel Adesanya lays out the pathway for Francis Ngannou to knockout Ciryl Gane
Francis Ngannou is one of the most powerful punchers in the world. Regardless of the sport, his power is unmatched. However, his next opponent is a slick fighter who is excellent at maintaining distance and picking a fighter apart from the outside. So how will he win? Israel Adesanya explains.
“Francis, he had his run in the UFC for a while now. Ups and downs. In his last fight, he came up against a guy who beat him. And he stopped him I believe in the second round. He did that because he was calm. He took his time and he was cautious. At the same time, he was aggressive but wasn’t overly aggressive,” said Adesanya.
“Patient Francis is a dangerous Francis. He knows that now. Ciryl has got the technical advantage over Francis from what I have seen before from their previous fights. But Francis has got the equaliser. He’s got that nuke…. When his hands touch people they just fall.”
Francis Ngannou has Knocked out 10 of his opponents in the UFC so far. He is currently on a 5 fight win streak and Ngannou finished all five of his opponents via KO/TKO. Stylebender feels Ciryl Gane’s camp has to be wary of that.
“That’s one thing that Gane and his team will have to be careful about not getting trapped. If Francis is patient and gets into a position where Gane isn’t able to move, then you know Francis can touch him if he’s patient. You only dodge for so long, you can’t dodge forever.”
“Francis just has to be patient. He needs to use his kicks, use his faints. These are all Ciryl use very well as well. It’s gonna be a very interesting fight.”
Francis Ngannou vs Cyril Gane will take place in 2 days’ time on January 22. Israel Adesanya will fight just under a month later at UFC 271 on February 13. He will defend his belt against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
