Francis Ngannou reveals New Zealand lockdown rules jeopardized the plan of bringing Israel Adesanya into his camp for Ciryl Gane fight

Francis Ngannou has revealed that Israel Adesanya was supposed to help him prepare for his upcoming bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions in New Zealand apparently prevented Adesanya from traveling to the United States.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Ngannou shared that Adesanya was expected to be a part of his training camp ahead of UFC 270. However, 'The Predator' will have to settle for asking tips from the middleweight champion over the phone. According to Ngannou:

"I wanted Izzy [Israel Adesanya] to come but, you know, the New Zealand situation is not easy now due to the COVID [lockdown] but he would be a good fit for me for the movement and the cage control. He's pretty good at cage control, movement, and all those stuff so having him in person would've been great but he couldn't make it."

Check out Francis Ngannou's full interview below:

Francis Ngannou will be taking on one of the most technically-sound heavyweight strikers at UFC 270 next month. Ciryl Gane's background in Muay Thai, coupled with his slick movement and ability to evade big shots, will undoubtedly prove to be a complex challenge for Ngannou.

In the absence of Adesanya, Ngannou has brought in Glory Kickboxing world heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven to help him prepare for his title unification bout.

Verhoeven was expected to welcome former UFC heavyweight title challenger Alistair Overeem to the kickboxing ring in September. However, an injury to Overeem canceled their bout.

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Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya are set to headline the first two pay-per-views of 2022

Francis Ngannou will defend his heavyweight crown in the main event of UFC 270, the first pay-per-view of 2022. 'The Predator' is expected to face a very tough challenge as he takes on interim heavyweight champion and former training partner Ciryl Gane.

In February, Israel Adesanya will square off against Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271. It will be a rematch of their 2019 middleweight title unification bout, which saw Adesanya knock Whittaker out.