UFC 270 live blog: Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

This is the UFC 270 live blog for Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane, the heavyweight main event for Saturday’s fight card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Ngannou is the world’s No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings and the No. 3 ranked male pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. One of the hardest punchers in the sport’s history, Ngannou became the UFC champion in March 2021 with a brutal second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. The 35-year-old native of Cameroon rides a five-fight win streak into his first title defense at UFC 270 and has ended all 11 of his octagon victories via knockout.

Meeting him in Saturday’s title unification match is Gane, the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion and the No. 3 ranked fighter in the heavyweight rankings, as well as the No. 19 ranked male pound-for-pound in the sport. A former teammate of Ngannou’s, the 31-year-old Frenchman is a perfect 7-0 in his UFC career and captured his interim strap in August 2021 with a third-round knockout of Derrick Lewis.

Check out the UFC 270 live blog.