Being heralded as the best striker in the heavyweight division, Ciryl Gane has earned comparisons to the likes of former boxing champ Anthony Joshua. With that in mind, he says that there is a decent potential of him making the transition to boxing at some point before he retires.
Gane burst into the UFC heavyweight division, making an impression from the start due to his unique striking style, and massive frame. After seven fights in the promotion, and 10 total pro MMA bouts, he is the interim heavyweight champion, expected to try to unify that title against Francis Ngannou at UFC 270, to start the year.
However he is not set on just competing in MMA for the rest of his combat sports career. Speaking to Submission Radio, he explained that while it is not something he necessarily dreams about, he is open to the idea of boxing at some point down the line.
“A dream fight not really, but to cross the line to do a boxing match, why not? Why not, my man. You know what, before I started MMA, it was 50/50 with boxing,” Gane explained.
“When I switched to MMA (from Muay Thai) it was 50/50 because I got a friend in the boxing club, and he asked me to come… He told me I had something good in boxing. It was 50/50 and I choose MMA, but it’s not finished. Maybe sometime I’m going to cross the line. Maybe.”
Ciryl Gane Expects A Decision Against Francis Ngannou
First things first, Ciryl Gane will have to face Francis Ngannou, and try to turn his interim gold into an undisputed title. The bout is expected to go down at UFC 270 in January, as these two one-time training partners face off for the ultimate stakes.
Heading into the fight, Ciryl is in a unique position, because he is already familiar with the power that Francis possesses. He even admits That this is the most powerful puncher that he is ever faced in sparring.
“Oh man, he’s an animal. This is real… He has big knockout power… Yes, maybe (it is the hardest I’ve been hit in sparring), because sometimes you have a big guy, really tough, facing you, but he doesn’t use his power during the session, because sometimes it’s not really good to spar like that,” Gane said.
“This does not scare me. You see with Derrick Lewis, he has big knockout power, Derrick Lewis is a beast too, but it was not a problem. When you look at the fight, I stayed inside like that, with the punches it was not a problem. He’s a heavyweight like me, I can punch too, like that. No, it’s not a problem with me. This really does not scare me.”
That being said, despite the power that Francis possesses, Gane does not expect to fight to end before the final bell. He explained that he plans on using his defensive skill throughout the fight, and that might make it go to a decision.
“The prediction, a tough fight. A really tough fight… At the finish, after all the rounds, I’m going to win by decision,” he said.
Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane is expected to go down January 22nd, at UFC 270. This is going to be one of the most interesting stylistic matchups in heavyweight MMA.
