Michael Bisping wasn't the only one that was surprised by Francis Ngannou's performance at UFC 270 against Ciryl Gane. Ngannou went with a wrestling-heavy gameplan that saw him frustrate and suffocate his opponent.
There was talk of Francis Ngannou facing Jon Jones in the past. Michael Bisping believes that led to his wrestling looking so good at UFC 270.
“Well, I was surprised, to be honest, because even though I picked him to win and I did expect to see a better technical skillset from him, I didn’t expect that performance, if I’m honest,” former UFC champion Bisping told Submission Radio. “Now, of course, it wasn’t a perfect performance, and he certainly slowed down, and he could have capitalized on some positions better. But as I said on the YouTube video, he, in his mind, when he beat Stipe, was probably getting ready for the greatest of all time (Jon Jones). Training at Xtreme Couture with Eric Nicksick in America, access to great wrestlers, if he’s not working on his wrestling, he’s a fool.
“And I know he’s not a fool, he’s a very smart man, and his coaches are very smart, some of the best in the business. So, if you look at the first fight with Stipe to the second fight, there was massive improvements there. And then another year since the last Stipe fight, since he won the belt, you would be a fool to not think that he made improvements, and that’s what we saw. He was way more composed. He hit that sweep in the fifth round. He was hitting takedowns. Now, of course, that doesn’t mean Francis is now a wrestler. He knows some takedowns, and he’s got another wrinkle to his game, and in hindsight, when you’re fighting a French kickboxer, it’s the perfect gameplan.”
Francis Ngannou has a very complicated future after UFC 270. He could potentially face Jon Jones in the future depending on if he re-signs with the UFC heading into 2023.
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