Anthony Smith explains how Francis Ngannou changed the course of UFC 270 title fight in later rounds

Anthony Smith believes Francis Ngannou's recent title unification victory against Ciryl Gane was primarily due to a fortunate accident.

Ngannou clearly lost the first two rounds as Gane picked him apart with his wide range of weapons. However, in round three, Ngannou would land a big takedown that swayed the momentum of the fight in his favor.

From that point onwards, Ngannou outwrestled Gane, claiming the last three rounds and unifying the UFC heavyweight world title in the process.

Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast with Matt Serra and Jim Norton, Anthony Smith had the following to say on Ngannou's title defense:

"Francis looked the worst I'd seen him since the Stipe fight in the first two rounds. He looked tired. He looked really slow. Come to find out that he did have the injuries so maybe that has something to do with his explosiveness that we didn't see. But he just didn't look good. He wasn't moving well. He looked lost. He had that weird lost look on his face. And I think he slipped on a banana peel and ended up in top position. When you underhook a leg like that on a takedown, it's almost never on purpose. It just ends up there so you use it."

Check out the full episode below:

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What is next for Francis Ngannou?

Regardless of whether he beat Gane by accident or not, Francis Ngannou enters 2022 as the UFC heavyweight champion. Furthermore, he has no clear contenders in sight.

UFC 270: Ngannou v Gane

Should Tom Aspinall overcome Alexander Volkov at UFC London in March, he could be a potential option. Another option is the winner of Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa, which takes place at UFC 271.

However, it seems that the fight to make would be between Francis Ngannou and former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. It was recently reported that Jones is in talks with the UFC for a bout with Ngannou or possibly an interim title fight against Stipe Miocic.