Ngannou defends his UFC heavyweight title at UFC 270.
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
The UFC has good and bad news for 2022.
The good news: Its first PPV card of the year features Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title. An incredible fight that’s a real, proper 50/50 pick em. It also features a flyweight title fight in the co-main between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo. This will be their third contest and the previous two were both barn burners.
The bad news: PPVs now cost more. The UFC decided yet another price increase was a good idea, bumping the price up another $5. Not great.
But regardless, it’s a fantastic card with a fascinating main event. Can Ciryl Gane diffuse the juggernaut power of Francis Ngannou with his slick footwork and technical striking, or will Ngannou simply steam roll yet another heavyweight in minutes? It really could go either way.
My personal prediction: I see Gane getting knocked out. In their first fight, Stipe Miocic was able to control and tire Ngannou out by wrestling him. That’s not part of Gane’s skillset. He essentially has to run the gauntlet and not get hit for two rounds against the most dangerous puncher in UFC history. Considering how great Ngannou’s timing has been against technically superior strikers in the past, I expect Gane to get hit hard early. That said, Gane did outclass probably the second biggest puncher in the division in Derrick Lewis.
Either way it’s going to be exciting as hell. Here’s everything you need to know.
UFC 270 Start time
The UFC 270 main card starts at 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT) on Nov. 6. Here are all the details from multiple time zones.
US
- The main card starts Jan. 22, 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT).
- The prelims start Jan. 22, 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT).
- The early prelims start Jan. 22, 6 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. PDT).
UK
- The main card starts Jan. 23, 3 a.m. GMT.
- The prelims start Jan, 23, 1 a.m. GMT.
- The early prelims start Jan. 22, 11 p.m. GMT
Australia
- The main card starts Jan. 23, 2 p.m AEDT.
- The prelims start Jan. 23, 12 p.m. AEDT.
- The early prelims start Jan. 23, 10 a.m. AEDT
How to watch UFC 270
The UFC now has a partnership with ESPN. That’s great news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, but bad news for consumer choice. Especially, if you’re one of the UFC fans who want to watch UFC in the US.
In the US, if you want to know how to watch UFC 270, you’ll only find the fight night on PPV through ESPN Plus. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options to watch UFC on ESPN, according to ESPN’s site:
- Existing yearly ESPN Plus subscribers can order the upcoming UFC card for $75
- New ESPN Plus subscribers can buy a bundle of one UFC PPV event (streaming in HD) and an ESPN Plus annual recurring subscription for $100. This is a decent deal. The ESPN Plus annual ESPN subscription will auto-renew after one year, at the price of an ESPN Plus annual subscription at the time of auto-renewal.
You can do all of the above at the link below.
MMA fans in the UK can watch UFC 270 exclusively through BT Sport. There are more options if you live in Australia. You can watch UFC 270 through Main Event on Foxtel. You can also watch on the UFC website or using its app. You can even order using your PlayStation or using the UFC app on your Xbox.
Need more international viewing options? Try a VPN to change your IP address to access those US, UK or Australian options listed above. See the best VPNs currently recommended by CNET editors.
Full fight card
As always, this card is subject to change. We’ll endeavour to keep this as up-to-date as possible.
Main card
- Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane
- Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Michel Pereira Lima vs. Andre Fialho
- Sergey Spivak vs. Greg Hardy
- Cody Stamann vs. Said Nurmagomedov
Prelims
- Rodolfo Viera vs. Wellington Turman
- Raoni Barcelos vs Victory Henry
- Movsar Evloev vs. Ilia Topuria
- Warlley Alves vs. Jack Della
Early prelims
- Tony Gravely vs Saimon Oliveira
- Michael Morales vs. Trevin Giles
- Silvana Juarez vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
- Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
- Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius