F. Ngannou and C. Gane during the press conference of UFC 270 (Photo: Reproduction/Youtube)
Last Thursday night (20), the traditional pre-event press conference of the UFC 270. Card protagonists, Francis Ngannou e Cyryl Gane, who are fighting for the unification of the heavyweight belts (up to 120,2 kg) had the opportunity to resolve some outstanding issues face to face.
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The most tense moment of the press conference came when the subject of the controversial footage of an old training session between the two fighters came to light. After Ngannou claimed to have knocked out Gane with a high kick in a sparring session, the Frenchman denied this and started a heated argument.
Gane: "You're a liar. I'm sorry."
Ngannou: “He was knocked out, that’s why he doesn’t remember.”
Gane: “That’s not true. Honestly, you know me. I did some sparring sessions with Francis and they were great sessions.”
Ngannou: "Definitely."
Gane: “It was a beautiful left kick. The problem with Francis is that he doesn't like technical sparring. You like to do it with maximum force and I've told you that a few times before. You gave me the left kick. You hurt me. See? I'm honest with you. You hurt me. But you didn't knock me down. It wasn’t a knockdown.”
Ngannou: “Didn’t you fall with the left high kick? Let's be honest. And you say I don't do technical sparring? I train with a light weight, I train with women and they don't complain. Obviously it was good sparring, he didn't lie about it, but you fell. I respect you and I know that, among everyone, you are the honest one and I know that you could have been sincere about this.”
Gane: "You respect me? Brother, you don't respect me in front of others. You are lying. Did I sleep after that kick? Serious? Look me in the eyes.”
Ngannou: “I don’t have the tape so I can’t prove it, but it’s in there somewhere.”
Gane: "Is not true. He hurt me, I told you. It was a beautiful left kick with a lot of power, but it didn't knock me down. I was surprised by the power, because I had said it a few times before. I wanted to go back to the session, but the coach asked us to stop before something happened. That's why we stopped. That's the truth."
Ngannou: “Didn’t you stop training that day?”
Gane: “I didn’t continue because the coach didn’t want me to. I was a little disappointed.”
Ngannou: “Anyway, it doesn’t matter because it was an accident. I didn't want to hurt him with a kick. It happened and the only reason we're discussing it is the footage you guys released forced me to talk about it. I had never spoken before because it was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt you, we were training together and helping each other. Then again, I respect you and I'm not lying. On Saturday we will fight.”
Francis Ngannou e Cyryl Gane face each other in the main fight of the UFC 270, in California (United States), this Saturday (22).
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