Francis Ngannou has successfully defended his UFC heavyweight title with a battling victory over Ciryl Gane in California.
The 35-year-old has been gaining traction in the media in recent weeks due to a potential showdown with boxing's world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
However, hindered by a knee injury, the Cameroonian was pushed all the way by Gane, who not only took him past two rounds for the first time for the first time since 2018 but was seemingly up on the scorecards, too.
Nevertheless, Ngannou found a way to win, moving away from his trademark knockout style to take things to the mat, subsequently nullifying a similar threat offered by Gane.
While one judge had Ngannou prevailling by a 49-46 scoreline, a 48-47 verdict from the other two was a fairer reflection of a competitive contest.
After the bout, Ngannou acknowledged that he was prepared to consider a future boxing fight with Fury, claiming that "it is something that I must do before the end of my career".
Darren Plant
