Francis Ngannou is scheduled to make his return to the octagon in January. MMA Fighting has reported that the UFC heavyweight champion will match up against interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane in Anaheim, California on January 22. The two heavyweights will share the UFC 270 card with flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and challenger Deiveson Figueiredo. Also, Movsar Evloev will challenge Ilia Topuria in a battle of undefeated featherweights while Jared Cannonier fights Derek Brunson for the top contender spot at 185 pounds.
UFC 270 will be followed by the UFC 271 card in Houston, Texas in February. Headlining the card, Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against Robert Whittaker in the second installment of their battle. Adesanya knocked out Whittaker in their first fight back in 2019.
Both UFC 270 and UFC 271 will be available via ESPN PPV.
