"I saw that he was broken" - Francis Ngannou breaks down heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane

Francis Ngannou pondered upon his monumental unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane during last month's UFC 270 event.

According to Ngannou, he noticed how Gane's spirit was broken, especially in the later rounds of the championship bout. During an interview on his personal YouTube channel, Ngannou recalled:

"Going [out of] the fourth round, I knew for sure that it's 2-2. Basically, after the third round, I saw that he was broken. So by that time I think I kind of like sucked his energy. I'm like pretty good by just seeing him being broken. I'm good, I feel a different type of energy."

'The Predator' added that he knew what was at stake given the narrative around his rivalry with Gane as well as his very public contract dispute with the UFC. The Cameroonian superstar said:

"And going into the fifth round, I knew – because of everything that this fight stood for, everything that was around, all the narrative around this fight – this is definitely like the most meaningful fight in my career."

Check out Francis Ngannou's thoughts on fighting Ciryl Gane:

Ngannou valiantly defended his heavyweight crown against his former sparring partner in January. After the fight, he revealed that he had injured his knee in training camp, but soldiered through the pain to stay in the fight.

---

Francis Ngannou says he saw himself in Ciryl Gane

Francis Ngannou hasn't always been the well-rounded fighter that he has blossomed into. He learned the hard way when he was outwrestled by Stipe Miocic in their first encounter at UFC 220.

However, 'The Predator' came away with a valuable lesson from that experience. He was forced to learn how to wrestle to supplement his ungodly punching power.

At UFC 270, Ngannou showcased his newfound skills by outwrestling Ciryl Gane. In an interview with The MMA Hour, 'The Predator' claimed that he saw a reflection of himself in 'Bon Gamin' during their heavyweight clash. He shared:

"By the end of the third round, I looked at him, I saw me when I fought Stipe the first time. I was like this guy is gone. That was the moment I knew I won the fight, the third round. He was broken. I look him in the eye and was like this is a done deal. He wasn’t even responding to his coaches and I was able to listen to them"

Check out Francis Ngannou's interview below: