What could be a greater honor for an athlete than carrying the Olympic torch? Absolutely nothing! And now, the French mixed martial artist, Ciryl Gane, has been selected as one of the many torchbearers for the Paris Olympics 2024. Without a doubt, his pride exploded through his latest social media post.

After getting the exciting news, ‘Bon Gamin’ took to Instagram and shared a picture of himself with the Olympic torch, and another picture with him in the Octagon. In the caption, the fighter wrote, “Proud to carry the flame. Hoping to see MMA as an Olympic event one day. Meet on 4 June at La Roche-sur-Yon.” (As translated by Google Translate)

As per reports, there would be around 10,000 athletes, volunteers, and other dignitaries, hoisting the torch around the French soil. The entire process will continue till 26th of July, when the flames will be used to commence the Olympic Games in Paris. Gane is expected to hold the torch for around 200 meters at stage 24, on the 4th of June at Les Sables-d’Olonne, Vendée. 

Without a doubt, Gane’s announcement to be a torchbearer garnered quite a bit of attention from the sporting community. As soon as the post was shared, the fans took over the comments section and expressed themselves. Here is what the fans had to say.

French sports world hails Ciryl Gane for Olympics 2024 honor

The sporting community took to the comments section of Gane’s post and expressed nothing but happiness and pride for the mixed martial artist’s honor. Fellow UFC star Benoit St-Denis commented, “🔥🔥🔥Impeccable 👌.”  Similarly, fellow French UFC athlete Nassourdine Imavov wrote, “Magnifique 👏👏.” Fares ‘Smile Killer’ Ziam dropped the word, “Magnifique 🔥” Nora Cornolle commented, “Unbelievable 🔥”

However, the mixed martial artists were not the only ones who commended the Frenchman. Ibrahima Konate, the Liverpool center-back, also applauded for ‘Bon Gamin’. The soccer star commented with two fire emojis. But that wasn’t all. 

Fight fans applauded the mixed martial artist and his desire to see MMA in the Olympics. One of the fans wrote, “Yes, we want the MMA at the next World Championships.” Furthermore, many other accounts had nothing but applause for the heavyweight fighter. 

One of the fans lauded, “THERE I SAY YES. A real soldier to represent France and French sport.” Meanwhile, another claimed, “Heavy on the bro.” The applause didn’t stop. “A great gentleman for a great event”, one comment read. Another fan deemed the fighter as “The first bearer of the logical flame.” Moreover, one of the fans claimed that Gane was someone who was truly worthy and deserving of carrying the Olympic flame. The comment went, “Finally someone worthy and deserves it.”

Gane previously lost the fight against Jon Jones. However, he quickly reclaimed his lost honor by defeating Sergey Spivak with a second-round KO. Now, all he desires is to go for a fight that will let him have a chance at the UFC heavyweight championship belt. 

What are your thoughts on Gane’s announcement? Do you think he is the perfect fighter to represent the UFC at the Paris Olympics? Drop down to the comments below and let us know your thoughts.