TWTW – The Week That Was: UFC 270 did just that. With a banging main card on the line, the world was upset and shocked with the outcome of the two title fights that took place. The first was in the Flyweight division (125 lbs) between the champ Brandon Moreno and his arch rival Deiveson Figueiredo. The trilogy bout was highly anticipated with the first one ending in a draw, the second fight going Moreno’s way. This fight started off exactly how we imagined – bad blood, explicit press conference and a lot of mind games.

Figueirde’s decision to train with coach Eric and Henry Cejudo paid off. His gas tank looked better, didn’t rush to finish and definitely wasn’t clumsy in his approach. Moreno on the other hand, opted for a different strategy. He exchanged speed for power and was punching with all his might. While Moreno’s gas tank has always been good, Figueiredo’s strategy and approach sailed him through this victory. Moreno could only secure one take down in Round 5, but the damage had already been done by Figueiredo. With 1-1-1 in their 3 fights, Figueiredo has called for a fourth fight between these two in Mexico, something that Dana White would surely think about.

The main event of the evening was another banger of a fight for the Heavyweight title of the world. With almost 70% of the people leaning towards Gane to upset the champ and the current beef between Ngannou and the UFC regarding fighter pay, everybody assumed Ngannou isn’t motivated enough to win or he’s looking past the UFC for a better payday in Boxing. To everybody’s surprise, not only did Ngannou win, but he showed he has added wrestling to his arsenal. When a power puncher like Ngannou shows wrestling pedigree as a part of his game, it spells trouble for the rest of the division.

It isn't surprising to see fellow African Kamaru Usman is Nagnnou’s corner for his fights. Apart from the psychological advantage, it shows Nagnnou is working on his ground game with the pound for pound champ and is constantly evolving as a fighter. With no victories past Round 2 for Nagnnou, it was refreshing to see him utilize his ground game to secure a unanimous decision victory over a threatening Ciryl Gane. At 35, looking at how he’s evolving as a fighter, it would be great to see Ngannou back in the octagon, hopefully for a trilogy with Stipe or welcoming Jon Jones to the division.

Ciryl on the other hand surprised the world by winning the first two rounds of the fight and went on to lose the last three rounds. The fifth and most important round for both the fighters saw a crucial moment, when Gane took Ngannou down, which could have sealed the deal for him if he continued wrestling and controlling Ngannou but chose to go for a hell hook instead. Ngannou took advantage of that opportunity, reversed Gane and had complete control on the situation that led to a unanimous victory to retain the belt. With this, Gane loses his winning streak and adds the first loss of his career to his arch rival. What's next for Gane? Maybe a fight with Stipe (who happens to have lost to Ngannou as well) or Chris Dakaus, who just lost to Derrick Lewis.

Let's have a look at the rest of the fight card of UFC 270

WCU: What's Coming Up?

A banging main event between Sweden’s own, Jack Hermannson and ‘Tarzan’ Sean Strickland is a 5 rounder worth waiting for.

Let's have a look at the full fight card below:

Strickland was due to welcome Luke Rockhold back to the octagon in November 2021, but that fight didn’t see the light of day as Rockhold withdrew due to injury. The usually gritty and grumpy Strickland is itching to throw down in the octagon and there's no better opponent than Jack ‘The Joker’ to have that clash. Strickland is riding high on a 5 fight winning streak while Jack is coming off an impressive win against Edmen Shahbazyan. The contest will be a classic clash between a European gritty wrestler versus an old-school striker in Strickland. Surely worth waking up at 5:30 am for.

Crystal Ball Prediction: Strickland wins.

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About the author

Somesh Kamra is a professional mixed martial artist specializing in Muay Thai. He has designed many effective training programs for Superhuman Gym and the Police Academy. His knowledge of hand to hand combat is unbeaten and has been a success story for many students. Somesh Kamra is educated from the University of Gold's Gym in the field of physical fitness that includes strength training, plyometrics & cardiovascular training for muscular conditioning.

He works closely with the UFC for India and serves as the panelist for the TV Show – The Ultimate Guide to UFC and Pit Stop on Sony Sports Network. Somesh runs India’s first combat podcast – The Fighting G.O.A.T produced exclusively by the IVM Podcast Network. 

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