Francis Ngannou beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 and successfully defended his heavyweight gold for the first time in his career. Many believed that ‘Bon Gamin’ would give a tough fight to the champion due to his movement, grappling abilities and speed. However, ‘The Predator’ showcased a different version of himself today.

The Cameroonian put up a lot of pressure on the Frenchman and also displayed amazing wrestling skills during the fight. Interestingly, he did all this despite a horrible MCL injury he suffered during the training camp.

‘The Predator’, who wore knee compression sleeves for the first time in a fight, revealed the reason he did so whilst talking to Joe Rogan in the octagon interview.

He said, “It’s been a very tough training camp, very tough 10 months. A lot of sh*t happened. Three weeks ago, I hurt my knee, tore my MCL completely, hurt my ACL, and other stuff. You know, man, wanted to call off this fight. But couldn’t see myself retreat from this fight.”

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“Because it was a moment for me to make a statement, you know, and to remind people that I am the champ. You guys might sleep on me forget about me. I put in work every day.”

Moments after the main event, the CEO of Dominance MMA Management, Ali Abdelaziz, also took to his official Twitter account and confirmed Ngannou’s injury.

He wrote, “I was at the gym three weeks ago when Francis blew out his knee I don’t know how this man show up and fight like this @francis_ngannou congratulation @Eric_XCMMA @DeweyCooper @USMAN84kg  wow.”

What has Francis Ngannou said about boxing?

‘The Predator’ has frequently expressed his interest in competing inside the boxing ring. He has even had a back-and-forth with Tyson Fury. However, the fight never came to fruition due to official reasons.

Boxing is something that Francis Ngannou wants to do before retiring from professional fighting. In the same interview with Rogan, ‘The Predator’ said, “Boxing is always in the back of my pocket.”

“It is something that I must do before the end of my career. And right now I am really looking toward any opportunity to get that. Because it’s not like I have a lifetime here. So yeah, I better start thinking about it.”

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With this win, ‘The Predator’ has shut all his haters and made a mark in the UFC heavyweight division. However, he still has a lot to achieve in the promotion. Hence, it might a viable option for him to extend his stay.

It will be interesting to see if the UFC offers Ngannou the boxing clause he wants in his UFC deal to keep him on their roster.

What are your thoughts on Ngannou’s words? What do you think is next for the champion? Let us know in the comments below.