“It’s going to be an interesting fight, though. I think Alex Pereira is very tough. He’s big enough. He’s a heavyweight. But in this scenario, the position shifted a little bit because Ciryl Gane looks to come more with a strategy of a lighter person because he moves a lot.”

Ngannou continued … “And I think Alex Pereira will be most stable and strong, solid. Ciryl will be more fast moving around as is his technique. He’s good at that. And then it’s going to be very difficult for Alex Pereira to even get close to the distance to figure out what he can do.”

Francis says he thinks Ciryl’s movement will frustrate Alex … who will have trouble touching him, and that bodes well for Gane winning the fight.

“I think he’s a very good matchup for Ciryl.”

While Ngannou doesn’t have actual in-cage experience with Pereira, he knows Gane well. The two big men fought at UFC 270 in January 2022, a fight Francis won by unanimous decision.

If Pereira emerges victorious at 1600 Penn. Ave., he’ll become the first UFC fighter ever to be champion in three divisions.