Ciryl Gane has set his sights on heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou
What a ride it has been for UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane, over the last two years. The Frenchman made his UFC debut on the 10th of August in 2019, and is already the number 3 ranked heavyweight in the promotion.
With 8 wins, out of which 5 have been in the UFC, Gane hasn’t lost a single fight in his career. He is set to take on number 5 ranked heavyweight Alexander Volkov in the main event of UFC Vegas 30, this weekend.
Gane is coming off a victory against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, whereas Volkov’s last fight was a brutal TKO win over Alistair Overeem.
In a recent interview with South China Morning Post, Gane addressed the possibility of fighting for the title against Francis Ngannou, if he beats Volkov. The Frenchman sounded very confident that his fight against Volkov is a virtual heavyweight semi-final.
He was quoted as saying:
“I think this is a real semi-final. The UFC consider Volkov one of the best in the division. He had a mistake against Derrick Lewis, and so it was a little bit of a shame. But I’m undefeated and the winner of this fight is going to go ahead of the line for the title.” [via SCMP]
Gane and Ngannou were training partners, back in the days. Gane arrived at the MMA Factory (where Ngannou was training during his early MMA days). However, Ngannou was on the verge of leaving by the time Gane had arrived.
The pair have spent quite a few sparring sessions together.
Speaking about his former training partner in the interview with SCMP, Gane said:
“His journey was really incredible. He was homeless and now he’s a champion. That’s really beautiful. But for me, my career, no matter who is the champion, now I am looking for the belt…So yes, of course we did some training together but when I arrived in MMA Factory he’d already left so I don’t know him really.” [via SCMP]
Gane then spoke about fighting Ngannou for the heavyweight title. He exclaimed that he would definitely want a title shot against Ngannou, if he manages to get past Volkov.
“Why not [fight in Paris]? It’s probably a really good story. If I win my fight and if it’s possible to fight for the title, yes I’m going to ask that. It’s a present for the fans. For my family, my friends.” [via SCMP]
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