Reliving Ciryl Gane VS Francis Ngannou.

[The Old Guard]

I was there live but it was one of the biggest let downs in HW Championship history that I've ever experienced in over two decades of being a fan of MMA.

Francis didn't land a single crushing shot and was breathing hard and panic wrestling 2 rounds into the fight and Gane couldn't stop tired Francis takedowns to save his life and had nothing off his back and basically got LnPd since Francis couldn't do any damage on the ground either.

Gane had a sloppy leg lock attempt late in the fight but if anything that sequence exposed how poor their grappling is more than it displayed their skill. I don't know how anyone could watch that fight and think they were seeing something special.

I could name 20 HW fights which displayed better skill, technique, endurance and intensity.

 

[g*r*b]

I was there live but it was one of the biggest let downs in HW Championship history that I've ever experienced in over two decades of being a fan of MMA.

Francis didn't land a single crushing shot and was breathing hard and panic wrestling 2 rounds into the fight and Gane couldn't stop tired Francis takedowns to save his life and had nothing off his back and basically got LnPd since Francis couldn't do any damage on the ground either.

Gane had a sloppy leg lock attempt late in the fight but if anything that sequence exposed how poor their grappling is more than it displayed their skill. I don't know how anyone could watch that fight and think they were seeing something special.

I could name 20 HW fights which displayed better skill, technique, endurance and intensity.

I was also there live. Just before the fight started I heard someone in the crowd squealing "oh my god, this is it, it's really HAPPENING!" in a voice tight with manic gleeful anticipation. And I remember feeling sorry for that guy, because I couldn't imagine any fight living up to those fevered expectations. Especially since pitting a counterpuncher like Ngannou against a man who prided himself on managing the distance didn't seem a recipe for fireworks.

But even I was surprised at how far it fell short...

 

[gentel]

Gane-Ngannou was an epic fight, lifelong striker Ngannou was getting pieced up until he brought out the grappling as his secret weapon and dug deep for the win

 

[pigmonarchy]

The fight is incredibly technical.

 

[Masturbin]

The fight was pretty pathetic on both sides at least Francis dug deep and pulled a win out of his ass.

 

[Johnnny]

It was a strange fight, but the third round was incredibly entertaining.

 

[spinup]

The fight was pretty pathetic on both sides at least Francis dug deep and pulled a win out of his ass.

It was high level and tactical, it only lacked action because they cancelled each other out everywhere.
It takes skill to not get pieced up by Gane and it takes skills to not get slept by Ngannou.

 

[Masturbin]

It was high level and tactical, it only lacked action because they cancelled each other out everywhere.
It takes skill to not get pieced up by Gane and it takes skills to not get slept by Ngannou.

Gane was at his less effective and damaging striking wise and Francis just looked lost standing.

 

[Mga223]

Was such a shit fight.

Ngannuo injured but gane still played it safe to the point he completely blew it.

 

[Deleted member 587672]

Nobody wants to relive this bout

 

[spinup]

Gane was at his less effective and damaging striking wise and Francis just looked lost standing.

For good reasons.

No one was ever able to develop damaging striking offense against Ngannou, he is just too dangerous to throw any combo at him.
Gane's gameplan was too keep him at bay and wear him down with long push kicks and fast jabs. Worked pretty well as long as they stayed on the feet.

No one has looked good standing up against Gane. He moves too well, never is where you want him to be, his offense is tricky and unpredictable. Especially, Ngannou was injured, which compromised greatly his ability to cut the cage, close in fast and throw leg kicks, all essential parts of the gameplan to beat Gane on the feet.
Ngannou's gameplan standing was to freeze the movement: grab him with one hand and pummel, targeting mostly the body because it's a more static target. It looked ugly but actually got some work done.