5 biggest winners from UFC 270: Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

#2. Deiveson Figueiredo – defeated Brandon Moreno for the UFC flyweight title

Deiveson Figueiredo claimed his flyweight crown back from Brandon Moreno in a thriller

The best fight on offer at UFC 270 was undoubtedly the third meeting between flyweight stars Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. This time around, Figueiredo came away with his hand raised, reclaiming the UFC title in the process. It’s probably hard not to say he’s the better fighter of the two at this point.

Sure, ‘The God of War’ was submitted by Moreno last year, but he always did claim that he had a bad weight cut going into that fight. Furthermore, in their first meeting, he’d have won comfortably were it not for a point deduction.

Last night’s fight was also incredibly close. Moreno once again showed off his skills, particularly on the ground in scrambling, and a lot of sheer toughness. However, Figueiredo’s brute power largely won him the day thanks to a handful of knockdowns, including a genuinely nasty one in the third round.

Where does the Brazilian go from here? The UFC could easily justify a fourth fight between him and Moreno, based on the quality of their other meetings and the fact that they’re now 1-1-1 across three bouts.

Regardless, the fact that Figueiredo is back at the top of the mountain at 125 lb makes him one of last night’s biggest winners and should set him up for a huge 2022 whoever he faces next.

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#1. Francis Ngannou – defeated Ciryl Gane to retain the UFC heavyweight title

Francis Ngannou surprised everyone by wrestling his way to victory over Ciryl Gane

While his fight wasn’t as entertaining as some of the performances he’s produced in the past, there can be no doubt that Francis Ngannou was last night’s biggest winner.

Faced with arguably the toughest opponent of his entire UFC career in Ciryl Gane, ‘The Predator’ came from behind to grind out a unanimous decision victory. In the process, he showed off some new wrinkles to his game in the form of some brutal takedowns and excellent top control.

Early on, it looked like the feeling prior to the fight that Gane’s superior striking technique could lead him to a victory would turn out to be true. Ngannou struggled to get anything going, and ‘Bon Gamin’ was almost cruising.

However, once Ngannou slammed him to the ground in the third round, the tide began to turn. While ‘The Predator’ didn’t do much damage from the top, the fact that he was able to ragdoll a huge heavyweight was still eye-opening and impressive.

Given his contract issues with the promotion, this could well turn out to be the last time we see ‘The Predator’ in the octagon. Hopefully that won’t be the case, but stranger things have happened before.

If that was his swansong in the promotion, it was a hell of a fight for Ngannou to go out on. There can be no doubt now that he’s the world’s best heavyweight as well as one of the best big men in UFC history.