Ahead of his heavyweight clash at UFC 270 against Ciryl Gane, Gymshark has revealed a compelling community-focused campaign starring its sponsored power-punching champion Francis Ngannou.
The effort, dubbed “United We Sweat,” highlights the shared values between the company and the Cameroon-born mixed martial artist, which is fostering and celebrating community. The first standalone campaign for Ngannou also offers a message of uniting, touches on the power of perseverance and puts the focus on the fighter’s mindset as he heads into the biggest fight of his career.
“Obviously the brand is quality, and the material is very good, I personally use the brand all the time, but what excites me the most are the values, the messages that Gymshark has been sending out about community and caring for each other,” Ngannou told FN. “I hope people take away the value that is in the campaign, the message that we are sending out, which is about community and togetherness.”
Because of the shared values, the match with Gymshark is an ideal one for Ngannou, who joined the brand in March 2021. The knockout artist applauded Gymshark for working with his nonprofit, The Francis Ngannou Foundation, which has already built a gym in his hometown of Batie with plans to build more throughout Africa.
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“Gymshark is a community brand, and as soon as we partnered up they started to do stuff for my foundation even without asking me, even without it being in the deal,” Ngannou said. “They were engaged because it’s about community, which is exactly the values that they are working on.”
Although the campaign is new, the community-minded fighter is already looking ahead, and would like to help boost Gymshark’s presence on a global scale.
“I want to make it a very long-term partnership, and then maybe at some point bring the brand to Africa, expand the brand in Africa, mostly in Cameroon. And at some point, I’d like to have my own collection,” Ngannou said. “It’s very important to me because not many brands care about my home, not many brands are very excited to go in that market. For me, it’s an accomplishment, something that is not very often done.”
While the campaign is positive, Ngannou is set on destruction in the octagon Saturday night, but knows the matchup against Gane isn’t an easy out. “He has a good speed for a heavyweight,” Ngannou said of his opponent.
Despite this, Ngannou is confident and offered a prediction for Saturday night: A knockout under two rounds.
UFC 270 will take place Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The co-main event for this pay-per-view event, which starts at 10 p.m. ET and costs $74.99, is the third matchup between flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and No. 1 ranked challenger Deiveson Figueiredo.
