The undefeated Ciryl Gane wants to challenge Francis Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight title after winning over Alexander Volkov on Saturday night.
Gane told ESPN's Marc Raimondi that he is "ready" for a title opportunity and added: "I'm comfortable with the situation now. We were born in the same gym with the same coach, and he is the belt holder. I can do this for the title and for the belt."
After beating Volkov by unanimous decision on Saturday, Gane improved his career professional record to 9-0, with six of those wins coming in the UFC.
In the short time that he has been a pro MMA fighter since 2018, the 31-year-old Frenchman has already done enough to earn a spot in the championship discussion.
Gane vs. Ngannou would be a major milestone in the development of MMA in France, since both fighters trained at the MMA Factory in Paris under Fernand Lopez.
Ngannou, who grew up in Cameroon, turned himself into a dominant force in heavyweight division, where he has a record of 16-3, including 12 knockouts. Five straight wins put Ngannou on top of the heavyweight division, including a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic in March at UFC 260.
Gane, on the other hand, has beaten some very good opponents in his past three fights, including Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Volkov.
According to Raimondi, he is only the fifth heavyweight in history to start his UFC career 6-0. The others are Randy Couture, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, and Francis Ngannou, who all became UFC heavyweight champions.
Although Gane is undoubtedly worthy of a title shot, he may have to wait a little longer before he gets one.He is ranked third in the UFC heavyweight rankings behind Miocic and Derrick Lewis.
Additionally, he is likely to face No. 1 pound-for-pound fighther Jon "Bones" Jones, who is preparing to make the move to heavyweight. While it isn't a given that Gane's next fight will be a title fight, he is one of the UFC's fastest-rising stars, so it is likely more a matter of when rather than if he gets one.
Gane vs. Ngannou would be a major milestone in the development of MMA in France, since both fighters trained at the MMA Factory in Paris under Fernand Lopez.
Ngannou, who grew up in Cameroon, turned himself into a dominant force in heavyweight division, where he has a record of 16-3, including 12 knockouts. Five straight wins put Ngannou on top of the heavyweight division, including a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic in March at UFC 260.
Gane, on the other hand, has beaten some very good opponents in his past three fights, including Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Volkov.
According to Raimondi, he is only the fifth heavyweight in history to start his UFC career 6-0. The others are Randy Couture, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, and Francis Ngannou, who all became UFC heavyweight champions.
Although Gane is undoubtedly worthy of a title shot, he may have to wait a little longer before he gets one.He is ranked third in the UFC heavyweight rankings behind Miocic and Derrick Lewis.
Additionally, he is likely to face No. 1 pound-for-pound fighther Jon "Bones" Jones, who is preparing to make the move to heavyweight. While it isn't a given that Gane's next fight will be a title fight, he is one of the UFC's fastest-rising stars, so it is likely more a matter of when rather than if he gets one.
Source: Bleacher Reports
Comments
Post a Comment