Ciryl Gane turned a lot of heads with the way he shut down Derrick Lewis to win the interim heavyweight title. Joe Rogan says that he has forever changed the way heavyweight MMA is viewed.
Rogan was not on commentary for the UFC 265 main event between Gane and Lewis, but he still watched the fight. Much like the rest of us, he was impressed with the way the Frenchman was able to negate anything Derrick had to offer, en route to his third round TKO win.
Speaking in a recent episode of his podcast, Joe said that he has watch the fight between Ciryl and Derrick three times already, and each time he is more impressed. He believes that the way the new interim champ moves will change the way heavyweights strike forever.
“Ciryl Gane beat the s—t out of (Lewis). It was a shut out. He shut him out… Ciryl Gane, who’s 6-foot-5, 247lb, moves like a 170-pounder. It’s crazy,” Rogan said.
“He’s bouncing like Wonderboy (Stephen Thompson). Bouncing the entire fight, bouncing, throwing feints, like completely changed the standard of heavyweight striking. I’m not exaggerating… There is no question he is the best moving heavyweight I’ve ever seen.”
Joe Rogan Is Rethinking Ngannou vs Gane
With his win of the interim title, Ciryl Gane is now expected to face heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou to unify the belt. Joe Rogan is not sure how this fight will go, especially after seeing Gane fight Derrick Lewis.
Joe says that clearly Francis is going to have that one-punch knockout power that he brings to every fight. However the UFC commentator is now questioning whether or not Francis will be able to effectively land on Ciryl, given how smooth Gane can move.
“(The Lewis fight) changed my opinion on how a fight with (Gane) and Francis Ngannou would go down. At first my thought was that Francis Ngannou has the nuclear option with everybody. He has such f—king power,” Rogan said.
“Francis has excellent technique, Francis has ridiculous power, but he doesn’t have the movement that Gane has. The question is can Francis deal with the movement, and maybe threaten him in a way that Derrick Lewis didn’t figure out how to, and that’s what makes the fight so interesting. But the way that guy moves is something special man.
“I can’t think of a single heavyweight that I’ve ever seen move like that,” Rogan continued. “And there’s no flaws in his clinch game. He understands how to avoid the takedown, he understands pummeling, he understands distance and where he’s safe, where he’s not safe, and what to look for when he’s pulling out of the clinch, to not get hit. It’s really amazing man.”
It is important to note that Joe Rogan himself will admit to having been wrong about his thoughts on UFC prospects, so time will tell if Ciryl Gane lives up to this hype. That being said, so far so good for the undefeated interim champ.
