The UFC has kicked off the last couple of years with a bang having Conor McGregor in their featured PPV in January. Well, The Notorious one is on the shelf, but the UFC is planning on a massive PPV for their first event of 2022 without McGregor.
French news outlet La Sueur is reporting that the UFC is in advanced talks to book a heavyweight title fight for UFC 270 on January 22nd. The matchup would pair the heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (16-3) against the interim champion Ciryl Gane (10-0).
It is also being reported that the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will take place in the co-main event. With a heavyweight unification bout in the main event and that rematch in the co-main, it’s clear that UFC 270 is going to be massive.
Ciryl Gane has taken the UFC by storm since he made his debut with the promotion back in 2019. He debuted and he was very green at 4-0. However, he’s continued to get better and better and he’s a perfect 6-0 inside the octagon.
In his last fight, he took on Derrick Lewis for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Gane completely outclassed Lewis on the feet and ended up stopping him in the third round.
UFC Heavyweight Unification
While Gane had a title wrapped around his waste at UFC 265, it was more of a guarantee than a title. That belt guarantees Gane a shot at the current heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou.
Originally, the UFC wanted Ngannou and Lewis to face off back in August. However, when Ngannou said he wouldn’t be ready until September, the promotion scrapped the plans and gave Gane the shot while putting an interim title on the line.
Ngannou was incredibly frustrated by this decision justifiably so. The champion has won five consecutive fights with the longest one lasting 52 seconds into the second round.
The last time we saw Ngannou was at UFC 260 when he rematched with Stipe Miocic. Ngannou completely dominated the fight and knocked Stipe out cold to claim the heavyweight title. The Predator will look for his first successful title defense in January.