‘Training Is Something, the Fight Is Another Thing’- Ciryl Gane on Fighting His Former Teammate Francis Ngannou

Newly crowned UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane continued his dominance in the division as he downed Derrick Lewis via TKO. The duo headlined the UFC 265 event staged in Toyota Center, Houston, Texas.

With this win, the Frenchman not only improved his career record but also booked a mouthwatering title unification bout against undisputed champion Francis Ngannou.

While a clash with ‘The Predator’ may scare any fighter, Gane could be one of those who may not fall under this category. The first reason, he knows Ngannou’s strength very well compared to others as they used to spar. Second, unlike many, he possesses astute footwork coupled with better cardio compared to all other Ngannou’s opponents.

While these are just theoretical advantages for Gane and he knows that the actual match will be pretty difficult than just a sparring round.

“Yeah, training is something. The fight is another thing,” Gane said. “Not surprised. Everybody knows Francis’ strength, everybody knows my strength and we will see. For the moment, I don’t want to think about that. I just want to rest.”

Ngannou is currently operating on a different level. He has picked up his last few wins through knockouts. Although his power game was never in question, it’s the other areas that needed a bit of improvement. He showed the same in his match against former Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic, where he negated the latter’s takedown attempts.

What can we expect from Ciryl Gane vs Francis Ngannou?

Gane (10-0) has reached the upper echelons of the heavyweight division pretty quickly. It’s just been over 2 years since he started his journey with UFC. In these two years, he has got over the likes of Lewis, Volkov, etc, without being troubled much.

While he may take some confidence after getting a knockout win over someone who has defeated Ngannou once, he will be wary of the undisputed champ’s progress.

Ngannou is the most dangerous MMA fighter of all time. Period. The African native has put to sleep almost every other top fighter in the division and will start as a favorite against Gane.

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But one thing that will keep circling around his head will be durability. Gane, unlike his other opponents, takes the game deep. And if we put a scope into his past, we find that 2 of his losses in UFC have come via distance. He may work on that aspect and come prepared for that on judgment day.

What did you make of Gane’s comments?

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