Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 26: Ciryl Gane of France poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on February 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 26: Ciryl Gane of France poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on February 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane came out on top against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the main event for UFC Vegas 20. ‘Bon Gamin’ cruised to a unanimous decision after sticking to a rather safe strategy against Rozenstruik. Jairzinho Rozenstruik largely stayed out of the pocket and searched for the counter shot, but it never came.
Ciryl Gane utilized a mixture of takedowns and distance strikes to make sure he stayed away from the power that ‘Bigi Boy’ unleashed. Rozenstruik has Semtex in his hands and has showcased an ability to put anyone to sleep late into a contest. However, his power wasn’t a factor and Gane will now swipe his number three ranking.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Ciryl ‘Bon Gamin’ Gane: Where does he go from here?
The MMA factory fighter will have his eyes peeled for UFC 260 that sees Stipe Miocic defend his heavyweight title. Miocic rematches Gane’s teammate, Francis Ngannou in a bout that is roughly three years in the making. The winner of the aforementioned contest will go on to face Jon Jones who is a newly minted heavyweight.
Getty
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 20: (L-R) Opponents Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou of Cameroon face off prior to their heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 220 event at TD Garden on January 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Jones relinquished his light heavyweight title and has been dedicatedly adding muscle to his naturally large frame. His status as perhaps the all-time MMA GOAT has afforded him an immediate shot at heavyweight gold. This leaves surging contenders like Ciryl Gane on the sidelines for title contention for perhaps the entire year.
‘Bon Gamin’ vs ‘The Black Beast’
The only course of action that makes sense for Gane is to solidify his spot by fighting Derrick Lewis. ‘The Black Beast’ is coming off a sensational KO win over Curtis Blaydes just a week prior to Rozenstruik vs Gane. Lewis’ performance puts him as the front runner over ‘Bon Gamin’ to fight for the belt after Jones.
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 27: (L-R) Ciryl Gane of France kicks Jairzinho Rozenstruik of Suriname in a heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
If Cyril wishes to leapfrog Derrick Lewis, he will have to make sure to rack up a decisive win over the Houston native. The fight will certainly sell well to the casual fan base as Derrick Lewis almost always goes for the fight-ending blow. Chiefly, it’s the only logical way to go for both men who have reached the Apex for a title shot, but are not quite there yet.
