Francis Ngannou has enlisted the help of GLORY Heavyweight Champion Rico Verhoeven to prepare for UFC 270.
Ngannou is scheduled to put the UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line against Ciryl Gane on Jan. 22. Gane holds the interim gold. The title unification bout will headline UFC 270.
Rico Verhoeven Helps Francis Ngannou
They say iron sharpens iron. Ngannou knows he’s dealing with a solid and athletic kickboxer in Gane, so Xtreme Couture has linked up with the best heavyweight in kickboxing today.
Here’s what Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick posted on his Instagram page.
“Found this dude cruising through the parking lot, thought he’d make for a good sparring partner this camp… “
Nicksick later outlined the plan to MMAJunkie.com. He told the outlet that as it stands now, Rico will be assisting Ngannou for a week. If scheduling allows for it, then the GLORY champion will be helping Francis Ngannou out for an extended period of time.
Ngannou captured the UFC gold back in March. He slept Stipe Miocic in the second round of their rematch, extending his winning streak to five.
As for Gane, he took home the interim title with a third-round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis back in August. This was nothing short of a calculated thrashing and Gane pulled off the feat in enemy territory.
UFC 270 will be held inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Also set for the card will be a trilogy fight between UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo.
