Watch Francis Ngannou spar ahead of title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270

Francis Ngannou has given fans an inside look at one of his sparring sessions ahead of his first title defense.

Heavyweight champion Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) will attempt to unify his belt against interim champ and former training partner Ciryl Gane (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC 270, which takes place Jan. 22 in Anaheim, Calif.

Ngannou wasn’t too happy with the release of old sparring footage between him and Gane, which is continuously being used to promote the fight, claiming that it painted a false picture. Ngannou parted ways with MMA Factory Paris, where Gane still trains, in 2018 and has since been training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

Fans will have to wait three weeks until they can see Ngannou and Gane throw down for real, but in the meantime, check out some of Ngannou’s training in the lead-up to the fight, as he spars UFC heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov and muay Thai heavyweight fighter who recently transitioned to MMA Santino Zurita in preparation for Gane.

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