The current interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane is one of the top fighters in the UFC right now. Gane is currently undisputed in the promotion and shocked the world when he beat Derrick Lewis earlier this year at UFC 265. He won the fight following a third-round TKO and also won the Performance of the Night award for the impressive fight he put up. Prior to his start as a mixed martial artist, Gane was also Muay Thai national champion and TKO World Heavyweight Championship.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Ciryl Gane will be taking on ‘The Predator’ Francis Ngannou next year on the stacked UFC 270 card. Francis Ngannou is the current UFC heavyweight champion, and he will be fighting to unify his title against Ciryl Gane.
In a recent video that was leaked online, Francis Ngannou was seen ignoring his former Trainer and coach Fernand Lopez. Fernand Lopez is currently training Ciryl Gane. He was backstage at UFC 268 to corner his teammate Nassourdine Imavov.
🚨 SCENES BACKSTAGE AT #UFC268. 👀
🏆 @Francis_Ngannou & @Ciryl_Gane get a good look at each other months before their championship clash! pic.twitter.com/mVVlH93rAJ
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 7, 2021
You could see the tension between the two fighters in the incident that went down backstage at Madison square garden. Francis Ngannou didn’t even turn to look at Gane and his team. The interim champion didn’t appreciate the behavior and later spoke about it in an interview with MMAJunkie.
READ MORE: The Fallout Between Francis Ngannou and UFC – An Entire Timeline of Events and What Led to an Interim Title
Ciryl Gane on the incident
The interim champion recently appeared in an interview with MMAJunkie’s Farah Hannoun and discussed a variety of topics. He also opened up about his backstage encounter with his upcoming opponent, Francis Ngannou.
He said, “Why? Just why? It was not necessary. But it’s like that. Some people think differently than me. Some people are different. So for me, it was not necessary. But he did it. This is his story, so that’s it.”
He went on to add, “I’m surprised because maybe he has something against me, maybe he has something against his former coach, Fernand Lopez, but Nassourdine Imavov? Nassourdine Imavov just finished his fight, and he won, and in MMA Factory, maybe Nassourdine Imavov was Francis’ biggest sparring partner. So Fernand, OK. Me, I’m the future opponent, OK. But Nassourdine Imavov, it’s a little bit of a shame.”
Both the fighters will battle it off for the heavyweight champion belt and this incident will surely add fuel to the fire.
