UFC middleweight Nasrudin Imavov shared his expectations for a title fight in the heavyweight division of the promotion between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane on January 22nd at UFC 270.
“Whom do I see as a favorite? Ciryl, of course. Yes, Francis can get in. But there are five rounds in a fight, and you can't count on just one hit. How many long fights has Gane had in recent times? Francis, it seems, has spent a total of six minutes in the cage since 2019. Ciryl - an hour and a half in the same amount of time. This plays a big role, Gane will feel more confident in the cage due to experience. Ciryl is very difficult to hit, he sees everything well. Even when you hit him, he makes a quick movement of his head to reduce the force of the missed blow. He is very fast, moves like a lightweight.
"I think Ciryl will move a lot in the first round. It will be difficult for Francis to catch him. And the longer the battle goes on, the more Ngannou will get tired. And Gane will pick up the pace. I think he can win early in the third or fourth round. If not, he will take the fight on points,” Imavov said.
Imavov is Gane's partner in the Parisian gym of the MMA Factory. Ngannou was also a member of their team earlier.
