If you poll professional fighters today, most would say they began their fighting journey as a child. Some wrestled all through school; others learned jiu-jitsu as a kid, eventually reaching black belt status. But Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane, the future of mixed martial arts (MMA), spent most of his youth playing soccer and basketball. Only when he turned 24 did Gane pick up the sport of fighting. Gane recalled, “I started this sport because I had a friend in my school who asked me to try it. I said, ‘Why not?’” Fast forward to today, and the Frenchman is arguably the most unique fighter that the MMA community has witnessed. No heavyweight moves the way he does; he has exceptional speed, kicking prowess, and footwork for an athlete of his six-foot-four-inch, 250-pound stature. In his first 10 professional MMA fights, Gane has dominated his opponents through athleticism and tactical striking, and he was the odds-on favorite ahead of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 270 against Heavyweight Champion “The Predator” Francis Ngannou––another frightening power-puncher with one of the most lethal right hooks. Looking to extend his winning record and capture a heavyweight title, Gane stepped into the Honda Center ring with confidence and laser focus.
Zero to a Hundred
Gane walked into the local Muay Thai—a martial art and combat sport centered on stand-up striking techniques—gym with zero experience. Within the first session, Gane blew his coach away. The potential was there, but Gane’s heart wasn’t fully committed at the time. His coach, Xavier Severin, made his message clear: “Come for real or never come back.” Gane reflected, “He gave me no choice. He saw in me the potential to do something good.”
In a matter of months, Gane achieved greatness in the realm of Muay Thai: He always made it through competitions unscathed, ultimately recording 13 professional victories with nine knockouts and claiming the Muay Thai national heavyweight title. Despite the rapid success and a potential career in Muay Thai, Gane decided to join a gym closer to his home on the east side of Paris. He met Fernand Lopez, a former Cameroonian mixed martial artist, and moved to the MMA Factory, the biggest MMA gym in France.
Unlike Severin, Lopez wasn’t satisfied with what he saw at first glance. Lopez had never even heard of Gane, and he wasn’t impressed with the newcomer’s physicality or technical abilities. When word spread that Gane was scheduled to fight French Muay Thai legend Brice “Nectar” Guidon, Lopez thought “[Gane was] going to get killed.” Yet the following week, the results proved Lopez wrong; Gane knocked Guidon out. During a meal together, the pair planned out their journey to the UFC. Gane would quit Muay Thai completely to focus on his footwork, ground game, and other aspects of fighting that were crucial in MMA. On his coaching philosophy, Lopez noted, “You have two ways to teach a kid to swim. You can bring him to the regular class so he can learn, or you can throw him into the water and see if he can survive. I threw him in there.” Gane trained with UFC middleweight Nassourine Imavov, who unsurprisingly often dominated Gane, and quickly learned to strengthen his weaknesses. Lopez and Gane were a hardworking duo, and the two continued to climb the ladder, consistently picking up victories before the UFC came calling in 2019.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Title
After only three years of MMA training, Gane quickly rose to the top of the UFC Heavyweight rankings. Remaining unbeaten in MMA after notable triumphs over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov, Gane’s chance to shine came at UFC 265 against prolific knockout artist Derrick Lewis in Lewis’ hometown of Houston. Despite Gane’s superior striking abilities, Lewis’s tremendous one-punch knockout power seemed capable of easily erasing his technical and statistical disadvantages in an instant. But that night, Gane’s poise and patience determined the outcome of the fight. Following a series of back-and-forth exchanges, the finish came when Gane cornered Lewis against the cage and hurt Lewis badly with a punching combo. Lewis recovered quickly but fell victim to another vicious combo and a powerful leg kick. This time, Lewis could not escape––he turtled up as Gane pounced and landed consecutive jabs, and there was no choice for the referee but to call the bout. Gane had clinched the interim heavyweight title and was on his way to fight Ngannou in hopes of unifying the title.
UFC 270: Ngannou
Like Gane, Ngannou trained under Lopez to prepare for a career in MMA. After successfully entering the UFC, Ngannou returned to the MMA Factory in preparation for his matchup against Curtis Blaydes––and this was when he first met Gane. A few months later, the two trained again as Ngannou prepared for a fight against two-time heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. To everyone’s surprise, Ngannou put Velasquez to sleep in 26 seconds and earned himself the title of “The Baddest Man on the Planet.” In the meantime, Gane won all seven of his scheduled fights, which placed him on the UFC 270 main event.
Despite the media’s desperate attempt to create a misleading narrative prior to Gane’s matchup with his former sparring partner, both fighters denied rumors about their “beef.” During a UFC 270 news conference, Ngannous said: “As I’ve been saying all week, there’s no bad blood between Ciryl and me. I have no personal problem with him. But we still have to fight on Saturday night and put on a show.”
Though both fighters started their MMA careers at the same camp, they are the exact opposite fighting style and tactics. Gane prefers to chip away at his opponents with short, sharp punches from various angles, while Ngannou uses his powerful kicks throughout the fight before landing that finishing blow. On January 22, Gane, the interim champion, and Ngannou, the undisputed champion, went head-to-head to unify the heavyweight belts. But there can only be one winner, and it was Ngannou’s night as he defeated Gane by unanimous decision to retain the heavyweight belt. Gane seemed to have the upper hand after peppering Ngannou with multiple close-range shots during the first two rounds. In the third round, Ngannou quickly turned the tide of the fight by successfully recording takedowns, controlling positions, and connecting a series of ground-and-pound strikes. The Cameroonian was the aggressor in the remaining rounds, and his dominating performance in the latter half of the fight was enough to secure the title defense. After the fight, Ngannou said, “I knew that he was going to be a tough opponent, no doubt.” He further praised Gane’s performance, saying, “I was surprised that he held on to the end of the fight, but he was very good.” Though Gane displayed phenomenal talent, Ngannou edged him out with experience. Regardless of the final result, both fighters displayed a never-give-up mentality and showed what was required to compete at the highest level. Ngannou will enjoy his well-earned glory until a new challenger approaches. Following the fight, Gane stated, “This is reality. [It] is hurting me a lot, but it’s the truth and I hope tomorrow I’m gonna improve. I’m gonna do more to be a better version of myself.” After defeat, Gane looks to bounce back.
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