In the Clinch: Gane Aims to Make Paris Proud, UFC Fight Night 209 – The ball is in Ciryl Gane’s court as the UFC sets up shop this week in Paris. Gane (10-1-0), 32, the former interim champion and current No. 1 in the division holds home court serve as he takes on the surging No. 3 Australian Tai Tuivasa (14-3-0), 29 in the main event.
It’s been about eight months since Gane’s unification loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 in January. We’ll see if the Frenchman and his corner have made the adjustments for Saturday. It bears repeating that Ngannou fought on a bum knee in that fight. Yet neither Gane, nor his camp, were able to spot the injury to take advantage of it during that fight.
Meanwhile, Tuivasa has been keenly observant during his current run. After getting blasted by aging guys like Junior dos Santos back in 2018, “Bam Bam” has eased back on the brawling a bit and is more selective now. The result is a current five fight win streak over guys like Derrick Lewis and Greg Hardy.
Gane’s technical striking and his ground game make him the favorite. If he can keep Tuivasa away with the distance and mix up the takedown, he can take some starch out of the Aussie. And the ground is there at any time which he can utilize.
The thing with Tuivasa is that he only needs a single shot to put the fight away. He will need some patience to not get frustrated combined with some controlled aggression to keep Gane on the defensive. Takedown defense will be needed. Look at what Leon Edwards did on the ground with Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. Tai might try something similar too.
Ultimately, Gane will have an entire nation in his corner on Saturday. He needs to take advantage of that.
In the Clinch: Gane Aims to Make Paris Proud, UFC Fight Night 209 – More Resources
Ciryl Gane
Tai Tuivasa
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Ciryl Gane
Tai Tuivasa
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