The UFC's reigning heavyweight champion will attempt to unify the title on Saturday at UFC 270 (10 p.m. on ESPN+ PPV), as Francis Ngannou meets interim titleholder Ciryl Gane at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Ngannou (16-3) won the title last March by knocking out arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic. Gane (10-0) claimed the interim title in August, with a knockout victory over Derrick Lewis in Lewis' backyard of Houston.
Adding to the intrigue of this matchup, Ngannou and Gane briefly trained with each other at MMA Factory in Paris, prior to Ngannou's full-time move to Las Vegas in 2018.
In the co-main event, a flyweight championship trilogy will take center stage, as Brandon Moreno faces Deiveson Figueiredo.
Moreno (19-5-2) will take his first turn in this trilogy as the defending champ. He was in the role of title challenger when he first met Figueiredo (20-2-1) in December 2020, and again last June, but after they fought to a majority draw in the initial bout, Moreno submitted Figueiredo in the rematch.
The stakes will be exceptionally high on this bout. For Figueiredo, it's a chance to reclaim the belt and likely move on to a different matchup. And for Moreno, it's an opportunity to truly plant his flag with the 125-pound championship and put Figueiredo behind him for good.
Who has the edge in the heavyweight title unification bout between Ngannou and Gane? And who's going to have their hand raised after the third meeting between Moreno and Figueiredo? ESPN asked several experts for their breakdowns and predictions.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.