Francis Ngannou became the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion after defeating Ciryl Gane with a unanimous decision during UFC 270.

This all despite carrying a substantial injury, which he revealed during the post-fight interview.

The Cameroonian superstar explained:

“Like three weeks ago I hurt my knee, tore my MCL completely. Hurt my ACL and all that stuff.

"Wanted to call out this fight, but I couldn’t see myself retreating from this fight because it was a moment for me to make a statement and to remind people that I’m the champ.”

This exceptional revelation might explain the underwhelming contest as Ngannou elected for a grabbling style of fight, rather than his conventional explosive combative style.

The victory is a vindication of what Ngannou brings to the UFC, although this has been clouded by the ongoing dispute between UFC and the heavyweight champion, as the Cameroonian looks to make the switch across to boxing in the distant future.

The result of this fight is more than just a title victory for Ngannou, as if he had lost the fight he would have become a free agent but thanks to the victory, this introduces the champion clause meaning that he is a UFC fighter for another year, if he elects to do so.

There are rumours that he would choose to sit out for the year before making the switch to boxing, which would be a shame and a disappointment for all fans of UFC.

It would have been interesting to see how the fight would have played out if Ngannou was fully fit and used a different style.

Would we be talking about a new heavyweight champion in Ciryl Gane right now or would the outcome be the same as it was last night?

All we can say is that Ngannou performed incredibly despite the injury and now needs to recover to full fitness so that the fighting world can see his prowess in full swing once again.