Francis Ngannou Calls Ciryl Gane’s UFC 265 Win ‘Impressive,’ Dubs A‘Legit Contender’

Francis Ngannou wasn’t in attendance for the interim heavyweight title bout between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane, but he surely was watching the broadcast.

The interim title fight was held in Houston, Texas, Lewis’s hometown. Still, Gane managed to trounce him with a third-round TKO. Ngannou, the newly reigned king, watched all this, and took to social media.

Impressive performance from Gane !
He’s now a legit contender.
See you soon boy. When you know you know. #ufc265

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 8, 2021

In Friday’s weigh-in, Lewis promised “one punch.” He truly landed only one significant punch in the first round, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

Gane left no chance for Lewis with his speed and footwork. He finished him in the third round via TKO. He barely celebrated his title victory because he felt sorry for Lewis for losing in his hometown.

Ngannou last competed at UFC 260 where he scored a second-round knockout victory over Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title, avenging their rematch.

It has not been long since Ngannou dethroned Stipe, but UFC still decided to make an interim title fight in his division. With Gane’s Saturday win, he’s queued up to be his next rival.

Ngannou wanted his first title defense to be against Jon Jones, but because of some contract problems between Jones and UFC, this fight was postponed until an unknown date.

Both Gane and Ngannou started training MMA in France. They were once friends and sparring partners.

While Gane is the mandatory fight for Ngannou, Jones is the next title challenger.

On the other hand, Miocic wants his rematch with the current champion or leave the promotion.