With the way that Ciryl Gane dismantled Derrick Lewis to win the interim heavyweight title, it has many questioning who has what it takes to beat him. According to Daniel Cormier, the only man that has a chance is his old rival, Jon Jones.
Cormier was cageside doing commentary when Gane completely shut down Lewis, before earning the TKO and interim heavyweight title. In just ten pro fights, the Frenchman has now put himself in a position where early odds have him favored to beat the current champ, Francis Ngannou.
Speaking in the DC and RC show, Daniel seems to think that this is a fair assumption. In fact, he thinks that the only person who stands any real chance of beating Ciryl Gane, is former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
“Who can beat Ciryl Gane? Right now, I’m not certain. You know who I do believe has the best chance of beating him? And it’s crazy coming from me. Jon Jones! Jon Jones is the guy that will present the most problems to Ciryl Gane,” Cormier proclaimed.
“Why? Because Jon Jones has fought at 205, Jon Jones has skills of a little guy, Jon Jones has seen athletes before. Jon Jones beat me twice, I’m an athlete. He’s seen the speed, he’s seen the foot movement and the angles, he’s had to deal with guys like that before.
“Now can he handle that at a weight class above, I don’t know,” Cormier added. “But I truly believe that Jon Jones is one of the guys that truly can give Ciryl Gane problems, but I don’t know who beats him. I think Francis has his hands full.”
Daniel Cormier Says Ciryl Gane Is An Athlete
This is a bold proclamation from Daniel Cormier, who is not typically nice to his old rival Jon Jones. However his reasoning for this is the fact that Ciryl Gane is a type of athlete that is rarely seen in the UFC.
DC explained that it is rare to see someone who has the physicality of Ciryl, especially competing in the Octagon. So this athleticism will give a lot of guys problems, potentially including the reigning champ.
“Ciry Gane looks like an athlete. He’s an athlete. 240, no body fat, lean, physical. Remember, that is exactly what we said about Francis Ngannou when he beat Stipe (Miocic),” Cormier said.
“Now you have a heavyweight champion that does not look like he’s walking around the street. You can see a Daniel Cormier all over the place, you can honestly see a Stipe Miocic all over the place. Stipe looks like he might be an accountant somewhere in your area… You don’t see Ciryl Gane walking down the streets in Louisiana or Las Vegas…
“You know what the best thing is about Ciryl, is that this dude is just an athlete. Now as mixed martial artists start to make more and more money, now the big guys don’t feel like they need to run to basketball. They don’t need to run to football to try to get paid, they can get paid inside the Octagon,” Cormier continued.
“That’s the thing. Ciryl Gane is an athlete, and I think that is what Derrick Lewis struggled with, and I think that a lot of the guys that he is going to have to face is going to struggle with, because he can move.”
What do you make of this assessment from Daniel Cormier? Is Jon Jones the only fighter currently, who has what it takes to beat Ciryl Gane?
