Francis Ngannou reveals why he was "very happy" about Ciryl Gane's leg lock attempt in UFC 270 title fight

Francis Ngannou has said he was happy to see Ciryl Gane go for a leg lock in the fifth round of their title clash at UFC 270.

Many critics weren't particularly pleased with the way in which the UFC 270 main event played out. However, there still was a lot of exciting action that went down when Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane squared off in Anaheim.

There's an argument to be made that it was 2-2 in terms of rounds won as we went into the fifth and final stanza. After some nice grappling exchanges, it appeared as if Gane was ready to secure a leg lock - and potentially a submission win.

Unfortunately for 'Bon Gamin', it never really seemed as if he had locked it in fully. As a result, Ngannou was able to regain top position and control the remainder of the round, assisting him greatly in his unanimous decision success.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Francis Ngannou gave his thoughts on the leg lock attempt by Ciryl Gane.

“That was pretty good for me [the leg lock], because he was on my good leg. I was also tired too, so I was kind of trying to use the position, and when he got that leg lock, he didn’t have it. I was just making sure that he doesn’t lock my hips and as soon as my hips is not locked, he couldn’t get my knee or get a knee lock or something. He was squeezing and I’m like, 'Good, keep going, this is how you lose energy.' I was very relaxed. It’s gonna get him more tired, it’s gonna get me more position, he’s gonna lose hope. Basically, when you have something like that, you think you have something and then you finally lose it, you’re like, ‘Damn, f***, what the hell is this’ and that was exactly the same thing. I was very happy at that moment.”

Watch Francis Ngannou discuss the UFC 270 fight and more with Ariel Helwani below:

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Why did Francis Ngannou wrestle at UFC 270?

Gane said in the post-fight press conference that wrestling was one of the 'best chances' Ngannou had at beating him, which certainly checks out in hindsight.

Ngannou was unable to land the big power shot he wanted on Gane during their exchanges in the first two rounds, forcing an adjustment out of the champion.

It allowed Ngannou to showcase what he'd been learning in training camp alongside Eric Nicksick and Kamaru Usman. This performance also cemented him as one of the most well-rounded heavyweights in the sport today.