UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou saw his title become disputed last year when Ciryl Gane was awarded the interim UFC heavyweight belt with a win over Derrick Lewis. That interim title bout came after Ngannou campaigned for a blockbuster bout with Jon Jones, which the UFC refused to green-light (due to both men’s pay demands).
Ngannou will face Gane in a title reunification bout at next weekend’s UFC 270. And there’s plenty of history between them. They used to train together at Paris’ MMA Factory. Ngannou split from that outfit and has since had some choice words for former coach Fernand Lopez.