Ciryl Gane was the latest heavyweight to show his stuff, winning a Fight of the Night by stopping Tai Tuivasa at 4:23 of the third round in the five-round main event of UFC Paris in front of a wildly partisan sellout at the Accor. Arena. Gane looks like the prototype of what a modern heavyweight should be. At 6-foot-4, nearly 250 pounds, he has the perfect build: Thick and strong, but not so big that it limits his agility. He’s quick and quick and has his feet on par with guys who weigh 80 or 100 pounds less. It showed in the final series on Saturday. After pounding Tuivasa’s body with kicks to the midsection throughout the night, Gane again landed two powerful body kicks. As Tuivasa finally had enough and bent over, wincing from the pain, Gane showed off his athleticism and excellent footwork. After landing the second kick, he quickly turned his feet and landed a fiery right cross that ended any question that Tuivasa might miraculously survive. It was the kind of leg you usually see from lightweight Vasiliy Lomachenko and not the kind you’d expect from a bulky, powerful, 250-pound heavyweight. Cyril Gane shined against Tai Tuivasa in the main event of the first UFC event in Paris. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) There are any number of profitable and fun matches available for Gane now. A rematch with heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is probably top of the line. Ngannou used his wrestling while fighting an injured knee in Anaheim, Calif., at UFC 270 on Jan. 22 at the Honda Center to earn a unanimous decision. Eric Nicksick, Ngannou’s trainer, told Yahoo Sports on Saturday that the most likely timeline for Ngannou’s return to action is the first quarter of next year. Gane said Saturday he fears his right arm is broken. The great Jon Jones is moving up from lightweight to heavyweight and is now ready to fight. Former champion Stipe Miocic has not fought since losing to Ngannou in Las Vegas on March 27, 2021, but the UFC has discussed a Jones-Miocic bout. A Gane match with either would be amazing. The story continues And then there’s Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall, among others, who would put up an entertaining battle with Gane. But Aspinall recently underwent knee surgery. UFC brass, however, have no shortage of options given the unprecedented quality and depth at the top. Asked if he agreed that the UFC’s heavyweight division is now at its peak, UFC president Dana White didn’t hesitate. “One hundred percent,” he said. The Ngannou-Gane fight is probably the most interesting. Ngannou fought injured in this bout, while the bout was a major step up in competition for Gane. Ngannou lost to Miocic and came back to beat him. Miocic lost to Daniel Cormier and came back to beat him. Kamaru Usman and UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou were on hand Saturday for Ciryl Gane’s win over Tai Tuivasa at The Accor Arena in Paris. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) With an athlete as good as Gane and as coached as Fernand Lopez, there’s no reason he can’t do the same. Nicksick, who is one of the sport’s sharpest minds, reckoned Gane would rely on kicks to stay away from the devastating power in Tuivasa’s hands. Tuivasa caught Gane with a right hand to the cheek in the second that not only dropped Gane, but also knocked him out momentarily. “Ty hit me so hard, knocked me out,” Gaine said. “Turn off the lights. I had to be a warrior and come back stronger.” Gane came back stronger relying on the kicks that Nicksick predicted. But he’s not so sure Gane will be able to cover enough ground to beat Ngannou in a theoretical rematch. Ngannou, remember, is arguably the hardest puncher in MMA history, but he only fought on one leg the last time he faced Gane. “I thought Gane used his range brilliantly [Saturday] except when he got to the cage in the 2nd round,” Nicksick told Yahoo Sports. “I think the rematch would be very different [between Ngannou and Gane]. “Francis hasn’t been able to use his kicking game, so with a healthy knee, I think we could get Gaine out of there.” Jones and Miocic are both wrestlers, so if Gaine was against either of them, he would have the same problem he did against Ngannou. Now, no one on the planet expected to see Ngannou fight this much, and he may never again. He is an elite striker and that is what has made him a superstar. Gane, however, would have to step up his takedown defense if he faced Jones or Miocic. “We recorded the plan [for Jones and Miocic]Nicksick said. “If I was in either camp, I’d have Gaine prove that he’s backed his fight.” This, however, is not meant to make Gane look like some sort of flawed prospect. He is a top athlete who showed he could keep his head and bounce back from adversity when he went down under Tuivasa. How many fighters have gone turtle in self defense after being hit by Tuivasa? But Gane found an escape route, quickly got to his feet and hurt Tuivasa so badly with kicks that he ended up winning the round on all three judges’ cards, even though it was on the floor. This doesn’t happen often. It’s also not often that an athlete of Gane’s stature graces the UFC’s heavyweight division, nor are there often that many worthy opponents for him. Gane won a sensational fight on Saturday, but one gets the impression that this is just the first of many sensational fights we’ll see outside of the UFC’s heavyweight division in the coming years.
