5 reasons why Ciryl Gane will defeat Francis Ngannou at UFC 270

#4. Francis Ngannou may be distracted by the issues around his UFC contract

Will Francis Ngannou's contract issues with the UFC prove to be a distraction leading into UFC 270?

Another factor that might give Ciryl Gane the edge is the multitude of narratives surrounding Francis Ngannou heading into Saturday's fight.

Given that he’s knocked out a total of nine different opponents inside the octagon, it’s easy to understand why Francis Ngannou is probably the most feared man in the UFC right now. However, quite whether ‘The Predator’ is as focused as he needs to be in order to take out Ciryl Gane, perhaps his most dangerous opponent yet, is up for debate.

Ever since defeating Stipe Miocic last March to win the UFC heavyweight title, Ngannou has essentially been at loggerheads with the promotion over a number of different issues.

Not only has he suggested that he wants to be paid far more handsomely than his current contract requires, but he’s also spoken out against the UFC’s business practices in general. He's also been talking of a fight with boxing heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury and wants a clause put into any future contract to allow him to step into that sport.

Such talk has not affected other fighters in the past, with the likes of Conor McGregor and Jon Jones able to deliver the goods in the octagon despite having issues with the UFC. However, it’s also worth looking back at Ngannou’s history.

The last time the Cameroonian was reportedly distracted on this level was in 2018. It was that year that saw him suffer back-to-back losses to Miocic and Derrick Lewis. So while ‘The Predator’ may always carry his brutal punching power, whether he’s focused enough to land a haymaker on Gane is another thing entirely.

If Ngannou is indeed distracted, it may provide ‘Bon Gamin’ with the opening he needs to find a path to victory in this fight.

---

#3. Ciryl Gane has more experience in a longer fight than Francis Ngannou

Ciryl Gane has plenty of experience in longer, five-round fights that have gone the distance

It’s probably fair to argue that in terms of UFC experience, Francis Ngannou is ahead of Ciryl Gane. After all, ‘The Predator’ debuted in the octagon in 2015, four years before the Frenchman, and has had 13 fights in the octagon compared to Gane’s seven.

However, despite the fact he’s defeated legends like Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem in his time, the one area that Ngannou is lacking experience in is longer fights. Due largely to his brutal punching power, ‘The Predator’ has left the first round on just five occasions during his tenure with the UFC and he’s only gone the distance twice.

When you consider that those two longer fights were the two fights that he lost, the question of whether Ngannou’s style can work down the stretch becomes even larger.

Ciryl Gane, on the other hand, has proven on multiple occasions that he’s capable of going deep into fights. Not only has he won two five-round decisions handily during his UFC career, but he’s also only stopped one opponent in the first round.

Sure, his detractors would point to the fact that he perhaps doesn’t have the same thunderous power as Ngannou, but the truth is that there are fewer questions around Gane in a long fight than there are for ‘The Predator’.

Therefore, if this fight ends up heading into the later rounds, then ‘Bon Gamin’ must surely be favored.