UFC News & FeaturesThe Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will finally make its debut in France after years of anticipation, and UFC Fight Night 209 looks to be a suitable offering at Accor Arena in Paris. Some late scratches left the bill a bit top-heavy, but the headliner and co-main event should be as strong as that of any non-numbered show. Ciryl Gane anchors the card in a showdown with fellow heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa, while former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker meets onetime title challenger Marvin Vettori in a battle that could shoulder the marquee for many other UFC events. Beyond that, there is a distinctly European flavor on the main draw, with the featherweight duel between Charles Jourdain and Nathaniel Wood sticking out as the best of the bunch.
Now to the UFC Fight Night “Gane vs. Tuivasa” preview:
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Heavyweights
#1 HW | Ciryl Gane (10-1, 7-1 UFC) vs. #3 HW | Tai Tuivasa (14-3, 8-3 UFC)ODDS: Gane (-540), Tuivasa (+420)
Gane’s first attempt at undisputed UFC gold fell short, but the Frenchman should be fine going forward and gets a huge chance to prove as much in this spot. A kickboxing convert, “Bon Gamin” made his pro debut in Quebec in 2018, immediately establishing himself as a prospect to watch. In short order, it became apparent that regional competition had little to offer someone with Gane’s size and fluidity as a striker. When the UFC picked Gane up within a year of that debut, there was little to no concern that he would be ready for that level. Indeed, Gane picked up where he left off upon hitting the Octagon, with one-sided wins over Raphael Pessoa, Don'Tale Mayes and Tanner Boser, all coming within a five-month span to cap off 2019. From there, Gane missed nearly all of 2020 due to various issues—it made the speed of his rise all the more impressive—but upon his comeback, the Frenchman continued to combine a torrid pace of bookings with near-flawless success. Gane handled an aging version of Junior dos Santos, outpaced Alexander Volkov in one-sided fashion and dominated wins over one-dimensional knockout threats Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Derrick Lewis; the Rozenstruik fight was an impressive if interminable neutralization, while the Lewis victory was somewhat of a de-pantsing, as Gane quickly left Lewis out of ideas on his way to a third-round stoppage. In a division that still often comes down to knockout power and durability, Gane’s speed, reach and sheer consistency to a low-power but high-volume approach seemed like a bit of an uncrackable puzzle going into his January title fight against Francis Ngannou. For two rounds, Gane looked to be on his way to flummoxing yet another opponent for a clear win, but the back half of the bout proved that not even he is immune to the occasional tragicomedy of the heavyweight division. Ngannou made the unexpected move of pivoting towards his wrestling, combining a bare-minimum level of effectiveness with his ridiculous physical strength to grind out a victory and force Gane into some poor decisions on the mat. It was a weirdly disappointing loss but one that can quickly be forgotten if Gane goes back to outclassing his more limited heavyweight peers, particularly if he is able to do so on the rebound. He anchors the UFC’s long-awaited debut in his home country and gets a gigantic opportunity to steal Tuivasa’s considerable momentum.
It has been a rollercoaster of a UFC run for Tuivasa, who has gone from top prospect to assumed bust and back again. The Aussie’s outsized personality marked him as a potential star upon his UFC debut, and after kicking off his run with three straight wins—including two knockouts—the promotion decided to jump on that momentum, giving “Bam Bam” a headlining slot against dos Santos after only about a year on the roster. Tuivasa nearly won, but the push was clearly too much too soon, as he was essentially a wild brawler whose game was held together by his surprising amount of athleticism. Even after his loss to dos Santos, it was still a bit of a shock to see Tuivasa’s slide continue with losses to Blagoy Ivanov and Sergey Spivak. After the Spivak defeat, Tuivasa took a year off to retool; that has paid some huge dividends. He is far from a technical marvel, but by fighting with some thought and patience, Tuivasa has been able to get much more out of that natural power. His rebound win over Stefan Struve saw him use some decently effective clinch work ahead of a first-round finish, and after walkover wins against Harry Hunsucker and Greg Hardy, his second-round knockout of Augusto Sakai followed much the same gameplan. After the Sakai win in December, Tuivasa turned around quickly for a February bout against Lewis that served as a breakout victory. While it did eventually devolve into a coinflip of a slugfest between two of the sport’s hardest hitters, it reaffirmed Tuivasa’s credentials as someone with as much power and toughness as anyone in the division. Unfortunately, this does not seem like the best matchup for any of that to pay dividends. There is certainly a chance of a Tuivasa knockout given that Gane’s defense is not entirely bulletproof, but this should be an increasingly dominant outing for the Frenchman over time. Tuivasa is likely to keep moving forward unlike some of Gane’s more disheartened opposition, but that will probably just get him picked apart as he eventually tires out; for as impressive as Tuivasa’s resurgence has been, it has not done much to answer questions about his cardio. The pick is Gane via fifth-round stoppage.
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Whittaker vs. Vettori
Di Chirico vs. Kopylov
Haqparast vs. Makdessi
Gomis vs. Errens
Jourdain vs. Wood
The Prelims
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