The UFC‘s heavyweight division is in a very weird position. At the top of the division, you have two men (Stipe Miocic & Daniel Cormier) who are getting ready to fight for the third time for the heavyweight title. Neither man is guaranteed to fight again after their trilogy.
Behind them, you have the most terrifying heavyweight in the world, Francis Ngannou (15-3). After Ngannou, the water gets murky for the heavyweight division.
Sure you have a guy like Curtis Blaydes, but he’s already lost to Ngannou twice. After Blaydes, the rest of the division is not very strong. However, there is one contender who just broke into the UFC‘s top 15 that people should pay attention to. He’s also a teammate of Ngannou. That man is Ciryl Gane (6-0).
From Muay Thai to the UFC
Gane is a French heavyweight who got his combat sports start in Muay Thai. Gane went a perfect 7-0 in Muay Thai including winning a title before making a jump to MMA. One year after his professional MMA debut, Gane made his UFC debut in August of 2019.
Gane fought three times from August to December winning all three of his UFC appearances to vault him to the fifteenth ranking. Gane is a massive heavyweight standing 6’5 and weighing the maximum of 265 pounds. There’s no soft in his physique as he’s a solid 265 pounds.
“Bon Gamin” is extremely entertaining to watch. He’s such a high level striker, but he doesn’t throw with all his power a lot of the time. He fights in a traditional point fighting style where he mainly touches his opponents. However, when he sees the opening, he can uncork power shots that are capable of putting anyone to sleep in the UFC‘s heavyweight division.
Another contender is what the UFC needs
As mentioned early, Gane currently trains at the MMA Factory alongside Francis Ngannou. Gane believes that Ngannou is going to become the next UFC heavyweight champion. He acknowledged that this could create an interesting situation between the two men and the camp.
“It’s a sport… If we can avoid the situation it would be best, but if I had to fight Francis, I would do this,” Gane told Fox Sports last year.
Gane is someone who I think the UFC really needs for it’s heavyweight division. As mentioned, after Ngannou the division looks pretty weak. If Gane can develop into a star, there could be massive potential for a Gane/Ngannou fight one day. For now, Gane has a fight next month against top contender, Sergei Pavlovich (14-1). If Gane is able to get through Pavlovich, a top-ten opponent would be next for the Frenchman.