The UFC is making their return to Paris in September and a familiar face is headlining the card. Dana White announced earlier this evening that former interim champion and France’s own Ciryl Gane (11-2) will return as he takes on surging top heavyweight contender Sergei Spivak (16-3).
The matchup headlines UFC Paris which goes down on September 2nd. Sergei Spivak is looking to pick up his fourth straight win and secure the biggest win of his career. The last time we saw Spivak was in February when he headlined a card against Derrick Lewis.
Spivak was able to get Lewis to the ground and secured a first round choke. It was his third straight win and his third straight finish. His grappling and dominance in that area has been something else as of late and he looks to pose major problems for the former interim UFC champion.
UFC Paris
For the second straight year, Ciryl Gane will headline UFC Paris. Last year, when the promotion made it’s debut in France, Gane took on Tai Tuivasa. Gane put on one of the best performances of his career and knocked out Tai Tuivasa in the third round.
Following that win, Gane was given the opportunity to take on Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title. Unfortunately, Gane really never got a chance to get going in that fight because he was taken down and submitted in a flash by the current UFC champion.
After starting his career a perfect 10-0, Gane is just 1-2 in his last three. Both of those losses came in UFC heavyweight title fights and in both fights, it was his grappling that did him in. Taking a fight against Sergei Spivak is very dangerous considering where Gane is weak.
That said, if he makes great improvements and can keep the fight standing, he should be able to light Spivak up on the feet. It’s a very intriguing matchup and a huge one for both men.