Francis Ngannou fought through adversity to beat Ciryl Gane in a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event at UFC 270 on Saturday, unifying the heavyweight title in the process.

Ngannou revealed after the fight that he recently tore his MCL and also suffered an ACL injury. Ngannou's doctor advised him not to go through with the UFC 270 bout against Gane, but he did it anyway.

Via ESPN's Marc Raimondi:

Afterward, Ngannou said he tore his right MCL and damaged his ACL ahead of Saturday's bout, but could not see himself withdrawing because he wanted to “remind people I'm the champ.” Ngannou said in the postfight news conference that he saw a doctor Tuesday and the physician advised him not to fight, saying there could be permanent damage if he got kicked there.

Ngannou decided to compete anyway, though he didn't feel steady on his feet.

“It's been an incredible journey,” Ngannou said, adding that he'll likely need surgery. “It's been a very tough training camp. A very tough 10 months. A lot of s—.”

With UFC 270 done and dusted, it's unclear what's next for Ngannou. He's currently feuding with UFC president Dana White, who didn't put the belt on Ngannou and didn't come to the postfight press conference.

A Ngannou loss to Gane would have made him a free agent, but he's still under UFC contract because of a champion's clause. He has said he could sit out a year until that expires, with boxing perhaps on the menu when that happens.

For now, Francis Ngannou should probably rehab that knee injury after his UFC 270 victory.