UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane is a man who was last seen in action many moons ago. Despite making a hot start to life in the UFC, the Frenchman has seemingly faded away into the night. That said, recent news will fill fans of the fighter with some much-needed confidence.
For those unaware, Ciryl Gane is one of the top dogs in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Following an impressive debut against Raphael Pessoa in 2019, Gane began racking up wins to his name and took the heavyweight division by storm. A gifted athlete, to say the least, Gane’s mobility and fleet-footedness were something that left the fans in awe every time he set foot inside the cage.
Along with his movement, ‘Bon Gamin’ also made a case for himself as one of the most elite strikers in the UFC. Over the course of his career, Gane has beaten the brakes off of some of the most feared competitors in his division. That said, his only setbacks have come against former training partner and heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and current heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Ciryl Gane leaks his UFC return to fans at Monaco GP
All things considered, the heavyweight division finds itself in a bit of a dire state at the moment. Owing to Jon Jones’ absence, there is nothing to keep things moving in the division and no undisputed title up for grabs. Previously, the interim title was claimed by Tom Aspinall and has since become the only title in play for the rest of the division.
As for Ciryl Gane himself, his last appearance came in September last year when the UFC made their second visit to Paris, France. Recently, Gane who has been away from the media for the most part, made an appearance at the Monaco GP. Naturally, he was quickly recognized by fans, who immediately hounded him with questions regarding his return. Being as coy as possible, Ciryl stated that the fans could expect to see him in September.
🚨 Ciryl Gane confirms to a fan that he will be fighting at #UFCParis in September 🇫🇷#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/n2YQJ6eIFw
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 27, 2024
For those that may not be up to date, the UFC has already announced their third trip to the Accor Arena in Paris, France set for Saturday 28 September. By now it has become almost a meme in the MMA community that Ciryl Gane likes to fight once a year in France against an out-of-shape opponent only to call for a title shot thereafter. In the past, he has done this with Tai Tuivasa and recently with Sergei Spivac as well.
Ciryl Gane reportedly turned down the opportunity to fight Tom Aspinall at UFC 304
Interestingly, news of Ciryl Gane’s potential return dropped almost immediately after Tom Aspinall was announced to defend his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. In the lead-up to the announcement, fans got a pretty good idea of who the opponent would be, seeing that Aspinall had already revealed Gane’s reluctance to fight him.
Appearing in numerous interviews, the Englishman revealed how Ciryl would have made for the perfect dance partner as they settled on who would be the man to face the winner of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic. At the same time, Tom was made aware of the fact that Ciryl Gane was reportedly filming for his upcoming Hollywood debut in the Netflix project titled ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’.
Although Aspinall has made fun of the same with recent trolling, the main question is regarding Gane’s opponent for his reported return. Seeing that there is finally activity at the top of the table, it leaves some space for Ciryl Gane to get involved as well. Thus, one would assume that the Frenchman could either face the winner of Sergei Pavlovich vs Alexander Volkov, a rematch if Volkov wins, or face Marcin Tybura, who is coming off a win against Tai Tuivasa in March.