Tai Bam Bam Tuivasa poses during a UFC media opportunity at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on October 10, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/Getty Images)
Jon Jones offers a bizarre take on why Tai Tuivasa lost his fight against Ciryl Gane
Jon Jones is expected to return to action at UFC 285 this weekend against former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. While the MMA world at large believes that Gane may pose the biggest challenge Jones has faced so far, ‘Bones’ on the contrary, feels that Gane hasn’t fought legitimate contenders. The American is confident in his abilities and has taken the time to break down Gane’s game, particularly from the fight against Tai Tuivasa.
Ciryl Gane engaged in a thrilling contest with Tai Tuivasa in the inaugural UFC Paris event. Gane relished the opportunity to highlight the first French UFC event and put on a show for the home crowd. Tuivasa did manage to hurt Gane, even dropping him down for a moment, landing a vicious left hook that caught the Frenchman off guard.
However, Gane was able to rally back and regain composure as he stifled his opponent with thudding body shots that echoed in the sold out arena. In the end, Tuivasa could not keep up with Gane’s speed and agility and went down fighting, bloodied and battered.
Everyone in the MMA community praised Ciryl Gane for his resilient performance and took notice of his ability to bounce back from adversity. However, Jon Jones wasn’t impressed. He made an observation from the fight that many might have missed out. According to Jones, Tuivasa kept re-adjusting his shorts that gave Gane time to recompose himself and subsequently launch his range of attacks. Jones wrote on Twitter:
“Can someone count how many times Tuivasa had his left hand down pulling up his shorts in that last gane fight 😒”
In two weeks, Ciryl Gane will compete against UFC legend Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title. “Bon Gamin” is a former interim champion who lost the opportunity to win the undisputed title in January to former champion Francis Ngannou, who recently left the UFC and vacated his title. Tom Aspinall, a surging contender in the division, recently offered his take on Jones’ move to the heavyweight division.
Tom Aspinall wonders if the physical attributes of Jon Jones will afford him the same advantages at heavyweight. Now that Jones is making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4, Aspinall is uncertain whether he will be able to utilize his wrestling as effectively against the Frenchman, despite having a significant reach advantage.
“Jon Jones is an amazing wrestler,” Aspinall said in an interview with Jamal Niaz. “The massive advantage he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage. So he gets a lot of his takedowns with the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling – his wrestling is amazing. But I’m saying the leverage he gets with his size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight, whereas at heavyweight, he’s an average size heavyweight.” [via/ MMA Junkie]
“He’s 6-(foot)-4, I think, so he’s pretty much average size, average height heavyweight, at least. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height. It’s yet to be seen. But Gane is a niche heavyweight. He’s not a standard heavyweight. Like, his footwork is really good. His judge of distance is really good.”
Gane’s speed, technique, and footwork are unparalleled among heavyweights, which has rendered all his opponents immobile. Although Jones is returning from a layoff of more than three years, Aspinall believes the promotion to a higher division could be a factor:
“I don’t think the inactivity would affect someone like Jon Jones because he’s had like 50 million title fights,” Aspinall said. “He’s had so much experience, a few years off won’t affect him. I think more (that will) affect him is carrying his own weight and carrying someone else’s weight who’s really mobile like Ciryl Gane. If Ciryl Gane was more of a plodding heavyweight, more of a flat-footed guy, he would have a lot of an easier time than he would someone like Ciryl.”
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