Ciryl Gane Lauds Tai Tuivasa’s Punching Power, Discusses Potential Jon Jones Fight

In his previous 11 professional mixed martial arts appearances, Ciryl Gane had never been hit the way Tai Tuivasa hit him on Saturday in Paris.

“Yeah, 100 percent [the hardest puncher I’ve faced],” Gane said at the UFC Fight Night 209 post-fight press conference. “Ngannou never touched me during the fight, so it’s impossible to compare. But today, Tai Tuivasa touched me. Francis Ngannou can touch very well. That’s not a question. But today, [Tuivasa] was the first guy to put me on my ass.”

“Bon Gamin” appeared to be on cruise control before Tuivasa dropped him with a massive right hand in the second round of their headlining bout at the Accor Arena in Paris. That set off a thrilling sequence in which the heavyweights went back and forth before Gane put his opponent away with a series of heavy punches 4:23 into Round 3. For a few moments, however, Gane was going on pure instinct after hitting the canvas.

“I don’t have time to put question in my head. I just react,” Gane said. “So I felt nothing, then I felt the ground with my hands, and after that I saw his legs, so I grabbed the legs, and that’s it. This was my feeling. And after a few seconds I was back.”

It was a big victory for Gane, who rebounded from a decision loss to Ngannou in a heavyweight title unification bout this past January. The Frenchman remains very much in the title discussion, but the direction of the division is currently unclear due to Ngannou’s recovery from knee surgery and the long-awaited heavyweight debut of Jon Jones. Former champ Stipe Miocic is still a factor as well. For Gane, the arrival of Jones serves to add a new level of intrigue to the weight class.

“To have Jon Jones in this division is going to put some more light, [and] the division is going to shine a little bit more and more,” Gane said on the post-fight show on ESPN+. “That’s why I’m so happy to have this guy in this division.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen exactly. People talk about Stipe against Jones, but I’m here. I’m here. I don’t have a good answer [about who is next for me]– maybe Jon Jones for the hype, for the money.”

Much, of course, depends on Ngannou’s progress. “The Predator” isn’t likely to return until 2023, but Gane remains focused on championship gold no matter what that path might include.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be an interim title,” Gane said. “I don’t know when [Ngannou is] going to come back to the division. I don’t know when he wants to fight. I don’t know exactly. Like I said any time, anywhere, but now I’m looking for the belt.

“I understand the UFC needs to manage this situation. [Ngannou] has a big injury, a big surgery so I understand if I’m going to be waiting for a long time, yes, I’m OK with an interim title. This would put me on the line for the belt.”