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HOUSTON – Ciryl Gane is a vivid and breathing representation of the evolution of mixed martial arts. He’s a balanced, fluid and tactical heavyweight who moves like a man two or three weight classes below him. He was born in France, which just legalized the sport of MMA last year.
Gane has only been training in MMA for three years, with two years of pro Muay Thai before that. But on Saturday night he won gold in the UFC, stopping Derrick Lewis via TKO with 4 minutes and 11 seconds of the third round to win the interim UFC heavyweight title.
“He touched me maybe once, twice,” Gane said at the post-fight press conference. “I think it was a master class.”
Gane will likely face heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to unify the title. Gane and Ngannou are former training partners at MMA Factory in Paris.
“[WWE CEO] Vincent [McMahon] Couldn’t have written a better screenplay than this, “UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight press conference.” It’s magnificent. … Him and Francis is a heavyweight bad ass fight. “
Ngannou took to Twitter after Saturday’s fight and said he was ready for Gane.
Awesome performance by Gane!
He is now a legitimate suitor.
See you soon my boy. When you know you know. # ufc265– Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 8, 2021
ESPN ranked Lewis and Gane respectively No. 3 and No. 4 in the heavyweight world, respectively. Gane is the first French-born fighter to win a UFC title. Gane and Ngannou both came to Paris under the guidance of coach Fernand Lopez, whom Gane called a “genius” and someone who can “see the future”.
Gane said Lewis did nothing on Saturday night to surprise him or his team. The finish came when Gane cornered Lewis against the cage. He landed a leg kick, a body kick and a combination of punches that severely injured Lewis. Lewis took cover, survived the assault, and retaliated. But then Gane went wild with another big combination, landing with various techniques, and Lewis couldn’t escape. He covered himself, knelt down and squirmed. Referee Dan Miragliotta had no choice but to call the fight.
The athletic 6-foot-4 Gane dominated throughout. He kept Lewis at bay, using his length and superior kicking game. Lewis apparently never got close enough to land a big shot, his specialty. Gane shuffled well offensively and let Lewis guess. The fight – and the finish – left the crowd disappointed. Lewis is a Houston resident and the map was built around him as a star here.
Gane edged Lewis 98-16 on important strikes and 112-16 in aggregate. He landed 80% of his important strikes. Gane’s significant plus-82 hitting differential was the highest ever in a UFC heavyweight title fight.
“He’s a big, powerful, badass heavyweight who moves like a middleweight,” White said of Gane. “He shut it up completely, set up a clinic, he looked good doing it. It looks easy against a guy who can turn the lights off all at once.”
Gane (10-0) is one of the most promising fighters in the UFC. Gane, 31, is now 7-0 in the UFC, making him only the fourth heavyweight to do so, joining Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Randy Couture. “Good Kid” recently beat Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision in what was a one-sided performance in June. Gane is the sixth UFC heavyweight to win a title while undefeated.
Gane’s seven-game winning streak is tied for second (along with Andrei Arlovski and Velasquez) for the longest in UFC heavyweight history.
Lewis (25-8, 1 NC) has the most KO / TKO wins in UFC heavyweight history (12). The mark also puts him in a tie at three for most knockouts in all UFC divisions, with Vitor Belfort and Matt Brown. Lewis, 36, had just won a second round knockout victory over Curtis Blaydes in February.
“I think I’m one of the best in the world now,” Gane said. “I think that means something. I don’t mean [I’m the best] because the champion remains Francis Ngannou. “
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