Francis Ngannou defended his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270

The reigning undisputed UFC Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou went the full five rounds with interim champion Ciryl Gane and came out on top by unanimous decision to successfully defend his belt at UFC 270 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Francis Zavier Ngannou is a French Cameroonian mixed martial artist who reminded everyone on Saturday that he is not only the most frightening power puncher in UFC history, he also have such an immeasurable heart - befitting the champion that he is.

Ngannou (17-3) defended his heavyweight belt for the first time with impressive perseverance against Gane (10-1), his fellow French citizen with the official scorecards reading 48-47, 48-47, 49-46, all for Ngannou.

What made the victory all the more impressive was that Ngannou did it while injured as he later revealed in the Octagon. "It's been a very tough training camp," Ngannou told Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview. "Very tough 10 months. A lot of s—t. Three weeks ago, I hurt my knee. Tore my MCL completely, hurt my ACL and other stuff."

Now, what is next for Ngannou? He's been hinting at a boxing match, preferably with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

UFC 270 was the final fight on Ngannou’s contract. With the win, the UFC can invoke a champion’s clause that will extend Ngannou's contract for three fights or for one year. If Ngannou decides to not compete, his contract would end in January 2023, so he could enter free agency if he waited out the deal.