5 Defining Moments: Ciryl Gane

Hopes for Ciryl Gane remain high in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Frenchman will look to keep his spot near the top of the weight class when he takes on Sergey Spivak in the UFC Fight Night 226 headliner at Accor Arena on Saturday in Paris. Gane has lost two of his past three bouts. However, the 33-year-old MMA Factory rep has compiled a stellar 8-2 record across his 10 assignments in the UFC.

As Gane approaches his forthcoming battle with Spivak, a look at five of the moments that have come to define him at this stage of his career:

1. Breaking Ground

Gane made a sensational first impression when he put away Raphael Pessoa with an arm-triangle choke as part of the UFC Fight Night 156 undercard on Aug. 10, 2019 at Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. Pessoa, who entered the cage with a perfect 9-0 record, conceded defeat 4:12 into Round 1. Operating in the shadows of the Valentina Shevchenko-Liz Carmouche main event, the heavyweight newcomers spent a majority of their time hunting power punches on the feet. Late in the first round, Pessoa executed a trip takedown, only to have the position immediately reversed. Gane moved on top, cinched the arm-triangle, used the cage for leverage and nailed down the submission.

2. Out with the Old

The undefeated Gane moved one step closer to contention and dismissed Junior dos Santos with a standing elbow strike and follow-up punches in the second round of their UFC 256 heavyweight showcase on Dec. 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Dos Santos succumbed to blows 2:34 into Round 2. Gane wrecked the Brazilian’s base with kicks to the inside and outside of his lead leg throughout the first round, then made his move. A jab from the Frenchman blindsided dos Santos and propelled him back into the fence. Gane gave chase, floored the former UFC heavyweight champion with an elbow behind the ear and mopped up what was left with punches.

3. Spoiler Alert

Gane sent a clear message to his peers when he captured the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title, as he cut down Derrick Lewis with punches in the third round of their UFC 265 headliner on Aug. 7, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Having been effectively drawn and quartered in his hometown, Lewis bowed out 4:11 into Round 3. Gane chipped away at “The Black Beast” with kicks to the legs and body, powerful jabs, occasional combinations and slashing knees from the clinch. He flummoxed Lewis with routine stance switches, controlled the center of the cage and went about dissecting one of the most feared men in the sport’s history. Gane finally broke down the former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder with leg kicks in the third round, forced him to turtle at the base of the cage after landing a sweeping left hook to his already damaged eye and closed the show with a burst of unanswered hammerfists. The setback snapped Lewis’ four-fight winning streak.

4. Perfect No More

Francis Ngannou leaned on takedowns, topside control and unwavering determination to unify the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Gane in the UFC 270 main event on Jan. 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Gane appeared to be on cruise control through the first 10 minutes. Then, quite suddenly, Ngannou changed gears. He caught a body kick from his former MMA Factory stablemate and turned it into a high-amplitude takedown in the third round. He settled in side control and bled time off the clock, the proverbial light bulb seeming to go off in his head in real time. Ngannou struck for another takedown before the clock ran out and executed two more in Round 4, setting the stage for the decisive final frame. There, Gane responded with a takedown of his own, only to squander his advantage by going for an ill-advised heel hook. Ngannou scrambled into top position with a little more than two minutes to go, kept the challenger bottled up on the canvas and rode out the decision.

5. A Cut Above

Jon Jones returned from a three-year sabbatical and laid claim to the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight crown when he submitted Gane with a guillotine choke in the first round of their UFC 285 headliner on March 4, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gane raised the white flag of surrender 2:04 into Round 1. Jones—in his first appearance since Feb. 8, 2020—executed a takedown a little more than a minute into the bout, applied his ground-and-pound while climbing into a seated mount position and threaded the needle on the choke. Before Gane realized what was happening, his fate had been sealed.