Francis Ngannou reveals doctors advised him to pull out of UFC 270 bout

Francis Ngannou is fresh off the heels of his UFC 270 win over Ciryl Gane. The UFC heavyweight champion defended his title after scoring a unanimous decision victory over his former training partner with a grappling-heavy gameplan.

Ngannou revealed post-fight that he had suffered injuries during his training camp, and had a grade 3 MCL tear and a damaged ACL. Going into further detail on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the Cameroonian then revealed that he was actually advised by a doctor that he had seen pre-fight that he should pull out from his title unification bout at the event.

Francis Ngannou reveals he saw a doctor four days before #UFC270 and the doctor told him not to fight. Ngannou's response?

"I know it won't be easy, but it will be possible." #TheMMAHour

— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) January 24, 2022

Ngannou went into further detail and explained that despite the injuries to his knee, he remained confident in his abilities to win the fight, which is why he stayed in the bout.

“I believe in myself. I’ve been through a lot of stuff in my life. That must be a dumb decision, but I didn’t want to withdraw from this fight. I was very confident about my skills to win this fight.”

The doctor explained to Ngannou that a kick to the bad knee could lead to irreversible damage. Despite the damage, the UFC heavyweight champion went on to unify the 265lb titles by defeating then-interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 270.

Ngannou’s self-belief has led him from working in the sand mines of Cameroon to becoming the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. He’s also now in the rare position of being a champion in the world’s largest MMA promotion with an expiring contract, as Ngannou’s deal with the UFC expires in December of this year.

Ngannou has spoken outwardly about potentially moving to the boxing ring and challenging WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. However, it remains to be seen if the two heavyweight titans will collide.

What do you think is next for Francis Ngannou?