After it was previously rumored that Francis Ngannou would defend his heavyweight championship against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 on Jan. 22, the promotion confirmed the event during UFC Fight Night on Saturday. The flyweight championship will also be on the line when Brandon Moreno defends the belt against Deiveson Figueiredo as the two men fight for a third time. The event will take place at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Ngannou was in a frustrating situation over the summer when the UFC announced an interim title bout just three months after he’d won the title by knocking out Stipe Miocic. Ngannou’s team and the UFC had a very public spat as Gane went on to dominate Derrick Lewis to win the interim belt.
That situation will now be put to bed one way or another in the main event of the first UFC pay-per-view event of 2022.
Moreno and Figueiredo first met in a short-notice bout at UFC 256 in December 2019, battling to a draw in a fantastic fight. They rematched this past June, with Moreno dominating the fight before scoring a rear-naked choke submission in the third round and winning the championship in the process.
Also announced for UFC 270 is a big fight in the middleweight division between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier. The winner will be close to a lock for a future title shot at 185 pounds.
