UFC 270 live fight updates, results, highlights from Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane & full card

Francis Ngannou will begin his journey as UFC heavyweight champion when he steps into the Octagon against interim champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night. 

Ngannou returns to action nearly a year after dethroning Stipe Miocic at UFC 260, and he will see a familiar face across from him in the cage in Gane, his former sparring partner. The heavy-handed Ngannou has torn through his last five opponents; none have lasted more than two rounds. But in this fight, he’ll be facing an opponent who has yet to taste defeat as a professional mixed martial artist.

Gane made his UFC debut in August 2019 and has been dominant ever since, with seven consecutive wins. He has beaten the likes of Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov and Derrick Lewis; the latter was at UFC 265 for the interim title. This is truly a fight between an irresistible force and an immovable object.

Also featured on the card is the trilogy bout between flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and former champion Deiveson Figueiredo. 

The two fought to a draw at UFC 256 and Moreno submitted Figueiredo in the third round at UFC 263. Moreno is hoping to end the rivalry while Figueiredo is looking to reclaim his former glory. 

Sporting News is tracking live fight updates and round-by-round highlights from UFC 270 on Saturday night. Follow below for complete results from Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane and the entire card.

MORE: Sign up to watch the UFC 270 PPV, exclusively on ESPN+

UFC 270 live updates, highlights from Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

Round 4 (12:59 a.m.): Body kick from Gane. Leg kicks. Body punch lands for Ngannou. Jab from Gane. Spinning body kick from Gane lands. Ngannou kinda walks through it but he’s laboring a bit. Body kick from Ngannou and he rushes in for another takedown. He gets it. Gane trying to control the arm. He gets to his feet and Ngannou takes him down again. Ngannou controlling Gane. Ngannou lands a knee to the chest. They are still on the ground. This isn’t what I was expecting at all. 10-9 Ngannou (38-38) 

Round 3 (12:52 a.m.): Ngannou misses a left hand. Gane feinting and Ngannou slips in and slams Gane to the canvas. He’s in side control. That’s the first time Gane has been taken down. Gane gives up his back. He slithers back to his feet. Leg trip from Ngannou and Gane pops back up. Back in the clinch along the cage. Spinning elbow lands hard from Gane. Ngannou swings and misses again. Gane with a body kick. Leg kick by Ngannou. Head kick from Gane and Ngannou takes him down. Gane goes for a kimura but gets nothing. Wow. 10-9 Ngannou (29-28 Gane)

Round 2 (12:46 a.m.): Ngannou looks tired already. Gane with a lot of movement. Body kick from Gane. Jab by Gane. Leg kicks. Ngannou not doing much of anything. Body shot by Gane and he comes over the top with a right hand. Ngannou swings, misses and the wind moves the crowd. The clinch. Gane pushes him off. More body kicks from Gane. Wheel kicks to the head lands by Gane.Ngannou just can’t get into range yet. He’s flat. Still a threat but can’t get a read on Gane. Short right hand by Gane. Ngannou barely misses an uppercut. 10-9 Gane (20-18 Gane)

Round 1 (12:40 a.m.): Gane circling and goes in to clinch immediately. They are on the cage and break. Ngannou pressuring. Leg kicks by Gane. Ngannou clinches.Short elbow by Gane and a jab. Francis is still pressuring and lands a body shot. Gane escapes the pressure and pops the jab. Spinning body kick lands for Gane. Short knee by Gane. Lots of movement. Another jab by Gabe. Ngannou searching for his target and coming up short. Ngannou clinches and looking for a takedown. Knees to the body from Gane. They break. Body kick from Gane. He’s making Ngannou work. 10-9 Gane

Deiveson Figueiredo decisions Brandon Moreno for UFC flyweight title in a nail biter

Result: Surprisingly, all three judges saw the same score of 48-47 for Figueiredo. It was expected to be close and it was. But the difference-maker was the leg kicks from Figueiredo and the knockdowns. But could we see these two in a fourth fight after seeing just how close this one was?

Round 5 (12:10 a.m.): Takedown by Moreno with a double underhook takedown. Figgy scrambles to his feet. Left hand by Figgy lands but he’s very inactive so far. Left hand by Moreno lands on Figgy’s chin. Right hand drops Moreno but Moreno pops back up. They swing and Moreno lands a pair of shots. Figgy is playing with fire by not going for it. Not a lot happening as we enter the final minute. Right hand by Figgy lands and they start swinging wildly. Figgy lands a left hand they are landing bombs and Figgy gets hurt as the fight comes to a close. How do you score this madness? 10-9 Moreno (48-47 Moreno)

Round 4 (12:03 a.m.): Leg kicks from Figgy. Moreno is recovered from being dropped but Figgy has him reacting to everything he does. Combination by Figgy. More leg kicks. Moreno’s movement looks compromised. Figgy switches to southpaw. Moreno sticking the jab. Figgy is losing control of the fight that he had. Moreno sticks him with a jab and a right hand. They are swinging wildly. Moreno got a couple in and Figgy moves back to the middle of the Octagon. Round ends. Moreno 10-9 (38-38)

Round 3 (11:58 p.m.): Figueiredo snatches Moreno and takes him down. Moreno gets to his feet and escapes. Left hand drops Moreno but he rolls back to his feet. Right hand by Moreno land. Moreno ROCKS Figgy. He’s hurt. Jab from Figgy and a left hand response by Moreno. Moreno’s punches are clearly doing more damage. Leg kick from Figgy causes Moreno to go down briefly. Left hand by Moreno lands again. The leg kicks from Figgy are piling up. They swing wildly but miss. They exchange jabs. Moreno mixing up his strikes. Right hand by Figgy puts him down! Guillotine! Saved by the bell. Whew. 10-9 Figueiredo (29-28 Figueiredo)

Round 2 (11:51 p.m.): Figueiredo looking for the takedown but is unsuccessful. Moreno lands a left hand on a break. More leg kicks from Figgy. Right hand by Figgy lands. Moreno catches a kick and goes for a takedown. Wild scramble and they pop back to their feet. More leg kicks by Figgy. Left hand by Moreno lands. Body shot by Moreno. Moreno brimming with confidence. Body shots by Figgy and Moreno lands a left hand and pops the jab. Figgy lands a pair of hard right hands. Moreno responds with a left and staggers Figgy. They exchange hooks. Close round. 10-9 Moreno (19-19)

Round 1 (11:45 p.m.): Figueiredo leads with leg kicks but Moreno clinches immediately. They hold position along the cage. They finally separate. Hard leg kick by Figgy. Moreno lands a right hand that buzzes him. Figueiredo ducks under a punch and gets Moreno’s back. Moreno rolls out and they are back to their feet. Moreno stuffs a takedown attempt. Spinning calf kick by Moreno. Front kick by Figgy. Close round. 10-9 Figueiredo

11:20 p.m.: After a rough first round, Michel Pereira made the proper adjustments to take the final two rounds and turn back the challenge of Andre Fialho. The opening frame saw Fialho step forward and land with power shots that bloodied Pereira’s nose and it appeared that the upset was possible. But Pereira’s explosiveness arrived in the second round as the Brazilian mixed up his punches and kicks while putting some steam on his shots. The precision and variety proved to be problematic for Fialho as the pendulum swung in favor of Pereira. As we approached the final round, Pereira was in control but Fialho fought valiantly enough to find himself back in the Octagon soon enough.  

10:52 p.m.: Up next is the always exciting Michel Pereira looking to pick up his fourth consecutive victory against Andre Fialho in a welterweight showdown.

10:45 p.m.: Welp, he may not be Khabib but Said Nurmagomedov is definitely going to be someone to watch in the bantamweight division with a 47-second submission of Cody Stamman. A spinning backfist and a spinning body kick by Nurmagomedov slowed Stamann down. Stamann didn’t want any part of the standup and sought a takedown. But that was a terrible idea as Nurmagomedov swiftly with sank in a guillotine to get the submission. Nasty. 

10:35 p.m.: Up next is Cody Stamman facing Said Nurmagomedov in bantamweight action. Stamman hopes to get back into the win column after dropping a pair of decisions to Jimmie Rivera and Merab Dvalishvili. He’s facing an opponent with the Nurmagomedov last name but he’s not related to the former lightweight champion, Khabib. Nurmagomedov is looking to win his second fight in a row after stopping Mark Striegl back in October 2020. 

10:25 p.m.: Michael Morales made good on his UFC debut with a first-round TKO of Trevin Giles. Toward the end of the first round, Giles walked into a right hand that destroyed his equilibrium. Giles was in full survival mode but Morales wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away as he pounced on his wounded opponent with a barrage of strikes to get the finish. The 22-year-old from Ecuador is now 13-0 in his MMA career with 10 of those wins coming by knockout. He could be a problem for the 170-pound division.

10:14 p.m.: We’re live for the main card of UFC 270. Before we get to the two title fights, we have three other bouts on the main card. Trevin Giles faces Michael Morales in welterweight action.

9:59 p.m.: In an exciting standup affair, Victor Henry made his UFC debut a thrilling one with a unanimous decision victory over Raoni Barcelos. Henry took the fight on short notice and showcased some exceptional striking as he diced up Barcelos with a varied striking assault that earned him his first UFC victory.  

9:15 p.m.: Everyone, welcome Jack Della Maddalena to the UFC. The Aussie put on a boxing clinic in stopping Pete Rodriguez with a blistering left hand and follow-up strikes to score a first-round TKO. Della Maddalena used a stiff jab that busted Rodriguez’s face up in a matter of minutes. Eventually, the jab led to a left cross and Rodriguez had no chance as he collapsed to the canvas and ate a barrage of strikes. Della Maddalena will be one to watch in the welterweight division. 

9:00 p.m.: Tony Gravely put together a takedown clinic to beat Saimon Oliveira by unanimous decision. Maybe Oliveira would have had a chance if he didn’t go for a guillotine every single time he was taken down because Gravely always found himself escaping the sub attempt and controlling his opponent on the mat. The 11 takedowns would be the reason he would see 30-27 scorecards across the board and find himself back in the win column after a TKO loss to Nate Maness last September. 

8:37 p.m: After an absolute barnburner where Matt Frevola dropped Genaro Valdez five times in the first round before finishing the job, we’re moving on to the bantamweights where Tony Gravely and Saimon Oliveira will clash and try to keep up the momentum on the prelims. 

When is UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane?

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 22
• Start time: 6:15 p.m. ET | 3:15 p.m. PT
• Main card (PPV): 10 p.m. ET | 7 p.m. PT
• Main event: Midnight ET | 9 p.m. PT (approx.)

UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane will take place Saturday, Jan. 22. The event will kick off at 6:15 p.m. ET with the prelims; the pay-per-view main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET. Ngannou and Gane should enter the Octagon around midnight ET, depending on the length of the undercard bouts.

How to watch UFC 270: Ngannou v. Gane

• TV channels: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
• Live stream: ESPN+

The main card for UFC 270 is available in the U.S. on the ESPN+ subscription streaming service for a pay-per-view cost. That portion of the event begins at 10 p.m.

Earlier fights, however, are viewable live on ESPN, the WatchESPN app and, for the early prelims, on UFC Fight Pass.

In Canada, the main card pay-per-view is available on Bell, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel, Videotron, Telus, Eastlink, and UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass.

Click here to learn about the different pricing and bundling options with the ESPN+ platform.

Gane vs. Ngannou price: How much does UFC 270 cost?

• $74.99 (current ESPN+ subscribers)
• $99.98 (new subscribers)

In the U.S., the UFC 270 main card is available via pay-per-view on ESPN+, which also requires a subscription. The PPV price for UFC 270 is $74.99 for current subscribers, an increase from $69.99. New subscribers can pay a bundle price of $99.98 (an increase from $89.98) for the UFC 270 pay-per-view and an ESPN+ annual subscription, which offers a savings of over 30 percent.

UFC 270 fight card

Main card

• Francis Ngannou (c) vs. Ciryl Gane (ic) for the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship 
• Deiveson Figueiredo def. Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision for the UFC flyweight championship (48-47, 48-47 & 48-47)
• Michel Pereira def. Andre Fialho via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)
• Said Nurmagomedov def. Cody Stamann via 1st round submission (guillotine choke) (:47)
• Michael Morales def. Trevin Giles via 1st round TKO (strikes) (4:06)

Preliminary card

• Victor Henry def. Raoni Barcelos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27)
• Jack Della Maddalena def. Pete Rodriguez via 1st round TKO (strikes) (2:59)
• Tony Gravely def. Saimon Oliveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27)
• Matt Frevola def. Genaro Valdez via 1st round TKO (strikes) (3:15)

Early prelims

• Vanessa Demopoulos def. Silvana Gomez Juarez via 1st round submission (armbar) (2:25) 
• Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Kay Hansen via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28)

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