Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman share a strong bond. The two take pride in representing the African continent as UFC champions. Usman will be present cageside when Ngannou takes on Ciryl Gane in the main event at UFC 270 on Saturday.
Usman was also seen filming Ngannou as he stepped on the scales during the weigh-ins. 'The Predator' tipped the scales at 257 lb, six pounds lighter than he weighed before his rematch against Stipe Miocic.
Catch Kamaru Usman filming Ngannou below:
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Francis Ngannou came out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision during his first title bid against Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. After dropping another lackluster decision against Derrick Lewis in his very next fight, Ngannou racked up four consecutive first-round KO victories.
The win streak earned him a second title shot against Miocic. In the rematch, Ngannou came in as a much improved fighter and beat the American via a second-round KO to win the heavyweight strap.
Meanwhile, Ciryl Gane switched to MMA in 2018 after a successful kickboxing career. 'Bon Gamin' currently holds a perfect 10-0 record, and his fight against Ngannou at UFC 270 is seen as one of the most intriguing matchups in UFC heavyweight history.
Francis Ngannou wants to fight alongside Kamaru Usman in Africa
Francis Ngannou delivered a career-best performance against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. With the win against Miocic, he joined Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman on the list of UFC champions with African roots. Ngannou has always been vocal about his interest in competing in a UFC event in Africa.
'The Predator' recently revealed he would like to fight alongside Adesanya and Usman in Africa. According to Ngannou, the current middleweight and welterweight UFC champions also share his interest in hosting an event on the continent.
During an interview with the Daily Mail, Ngannou claimed that such an event will happen, with or without the UFC's support:
“'It is a big dream. Very hard to happen at this point but you know, with time we'll figure out a way to make it happen, to fight for our people. It is very important for each of us [Usman and Adesanya too] and yes, with the UFC preferably but even without the UFC, that's going to happen."