Newly crowned UFC interim Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane has stepped up big time since his debut 2 years back. In such a brief span, he has not just picked up victories; he has achieved those with minor efforts. The Frenchman will now gear up to face his former training partner and the reigning heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou next.

In a recent interview given to BJ.Penn.com, the Frenchman detailed exactly when and where he wants to fight ‘The Predator’. He also discussed the timeline of his return and many other things.

“I’m going to rest a little bit because I started to prepare for camp in July of last year,” Gane said. “Since then, I have continued every week to prepare a new fight, just fight after fight after fight. I just want to rest a little bit and I have my wife due soon with my daughter.”

“It complicates training camp a little bit, but maybe the end of this year or the beginning of 2022. If it’s possible in France as well.”

While fight fans would be happy to see the heavyweights collide soon, we should note that Gane, as he mentioned, has been fighting at a constant rate. In the last two years, he has fought 7 matches. Considering he is a heavyweight, that number is certainly good.

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Gane became the first French-born UFC champ. And he can certainly push to expand MMA in a country that has long remained an unknown place for this popular sport.

“For the first UFC event in Paris, France, it will be a success for sure. It will be really great,” he added.

Ciryl Gane on Francis Ngannou’s fighting style

Fighting against Ngannou isn’t that easy. ‘The Predator’ is one of the fiercest striker to step inside the octagon. And it won’t be easy to fight the Cameroonian, even though Gane knows a thing or two about him. And he has strengthened his game from his starting days; an example we got to witness against Miocic at UFC 260.

“Yes, he is more well-rounded, 100 percent,” Gane said. “He has more conditioning and is an athlete, too. The people want to see this fight and it will be a really big fight.”

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It is certainly going to be a mouthwatering contest. On one side, you got the brute power of Ngannou, and on the other, you got the technical approach from Gane.

Who do you think will walk out with the gold?