UFC’s title unification bout at heavyweight could come in early 2022, as the promotion is close to finalizing a fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane for January 22nd. News of the heavyweight title bout was first reported by French news site LaSueur.
Should the fight be confirmed, it would join UFC pay-per-view card UFC 270. The fight doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment, but that will be known as the date draws closer.
The pairing sees Ngannou, the heavyweight champ, and Gane, the interim heavyweight champ, collide.
Ngannou’s next appearance will allow him an attempt to defend his UFC Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He claimed the belt in March, stopping two-time champ Stipe Miocic in the second round with strikes.
That win continued his explosive climb up the UFC ranks which included four consecutive first-round finish wins before.
UFC decided to crown an interim champion over the summer, pairing undefeated heavyweight Gane against veteran Derrick Lewis. Gane put together a near-perfect performance in his fight against Lewis, stopping him late in the third round with strikes.
The fight was Gane’s seventh win since joining the UFC roster in 2019. Previous victories came against big names in the division like Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruick.
A trio of bouts was reported for UFC 270 last week. Here is how the small, but developing card looks currently with the potential heavyweight fight in place.
Bout 4: Francis Ngannou (16-3) vs. Ciryl Gane (10-0) (UFC Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 3: Jared Cannonier (14-5) vs. Derek Brunson (23-7) (Middleweight)
Bout 2: Greg Hardy (7-4) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (59-16-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Jacob Malkoun (5-1) vs. AJ Dobson (6-0) (Middleweight)
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