UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou completely ignored interim champion Ciryl Gane when they encountered each other backstage at UFC 268.
Gane won the interim heavyweight title back at UFC 265 in August when he knocked out Derrick Lewis in the third round of the fight. Remember, the UFC had originally booked Ngannou against Lewis in that fight, but the promotion created an interim title after Ngannou was not able to defend his title in August. Instead of Ngannou facing Lewis for the undisputed heavyweight title, it was Gane who went in there and beat Lewis.
Ngannou was not happy the UFC created an interim title because he had just beaten Stipe Miocic for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 260 in March. However, the promotion needed a title fight headliner for UFC 265, and the interim title was born. With Gane now having won the belt, he is scheduled to fight Ngannou at UFC 270 in January in a title unification bout. The two champions will meet at that upcoming pay-per-view event, with the winner of that fight emerging as the best heavyweight in the world.
Considering they are former teammates and friends training at MMA Factory in Paris, France, this will be a very intriguing matchup as both Gane and Ngannou are very familiar with one another. But just because they know each other doesn’t mean that they are friends. At UFC 268, Ngannou and Gane crossed paths backstage. It was a very awkward encounter, as Ngannou did not even look at Gane, and instead continued to walk forward.
Not a word between the HWs #UFC268 pic.twitter.com/Ei15lcr2KM
— Jim (@FukingCasuals) November 7, 2021
