3 reasons why Ciryl Gane is the fighter to dethrone UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou
Next weekend sees the UFC's latest trip to its APEX facility, and in the main event, heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov face off with a potential UFC title shot on the line.
Ciryl Gane, who is undefeated in the UFC, will likely be favored – so is the Frenchman the fighter to dethrone UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou?
A fight with Ngannou definitely wouldn't be an easy task for 'Bon Gamin,' but a victory for Gane wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.
Here are three reasons why Ciryl Gane is the man to dethrone UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
#1 Ciryl Gane is a more technical striker than Francis Ngannou
It's probably safe to say that no other fighter in the UFC hits quite like Francis Ngannou.
Even ultra-tough fighters like Stipe Miocic and Cain Velasquez have appeared stunned when hit by 'The Predator.' At times, it seems like he doesn't even need to land cleanly to hurt an opponent.
Of Ngannou's eleven UFC wins, ten have come via KO or TKO. And right now, the native of Cameroon is on a five-fight winning streak, with all five of his opponents being left unconscious.
However, for as heavy a hitter as Ngannou might be, there's a solid argument to suggest that from a technical standpoint, he isn't that great of a striker.
Ngannou has never really used a jab to set his big strikes up, his footwork is usually based around simply stalking forwards, and his best punches often come from odd angles because they're such powerful swings.
His knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik was probably the best example of this.
Ngannou knocked 'Bigi Boy' out in just 20 seconds with a stunningly violent combination. But the punches were winged from the side, and 'The Predator' rushed forward with his chin in the air as he threw them.
Ciryl Gane probably doesn't hit quite as hard as Ngannou, but he's still more than capable of knocking his opponents out.
And unlike 'The Predator,' the Frenchman is a technically gifted fighter. Sure, his win over Rozenstruik wasn't nearly as explosive as Ngannou's, but Gane used angles, footwork and strikes from the outside to pick 'Bigi Boy' apart over five rounds.
In a fight with Ngannou, Ciryl Gane would obviously need to protect his chin more than anything else. But his footwork and striking accuracy would definitely make him capable of outworking 'The Predator' over five rounds.
#2 Ciryl Gane has shown more of a submission game in the UFC than Francis Ngannou
As we previously mentioned, Francis Ngannou now has eleven wins in the UFC, with ten coming via KO or TKO.
And while the one other win came via submission – his kimura on Anthony Hamilton in late 2016 – it's probably safe to say that we know very little about his ground game.
Ngannou was grounded by Stipe Miocic en route to his first UFC loss back in 2020. And while he showed dramatic improvements to stop Miocic's takedowns in their rematch at UFC 260, whether he has really tightened up his skills on the mat is anyone's guess.
That's why Ciryl Gane would be such a dangerous foe for him.
'Bon Gamin' admittedly hasn't proven himself to be the second coming of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Frank Mir, but we definitely know more about his ground game than Ngannou's.
His first two UFC fights were won via submission, as he tapped out Raphael Pessoa with an arm-triangle choke and Don'Tale Mayes with a heel hook – becoming the first UFC heavyweight to pull off that move since 2009.
And while he might not have the wrestling background of Miocic, the fact that he's known as a striker might mean he could surprise Ngannou with a takedown in a prospective fight between the two.
So if Ciryl Gane could put Ngannou on his back, could he submit him? Based on the evidence we've seen so far, it would certainly be a possibility.
#3 Ciryl Gane could outwork Francis Ngannou in the clinch
Francis Ngannou might be a truly deadly striker, but it's notable that when he knocks his opponents out, he tends to do so from the outside.
He's caught the likes of Cain Velasquez and Jairzinho Rozenstruik out by rushing them early on, while the likes of Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem were put away with wild, winging punches from range.
That means that one area we haven't seen a lot of 'The Predator' operating in is the clinch.
Would Ngannou's vaunted power work quite so well if an opponent were able to get tight to him and force him into the fence? It's definitely a question mark.
And while Ciryl Gane isn't a wrestler by trade, he does work remarkably well from the clinch.
His fight with Tanner Boser, for instance, saw him abuse the Canadian from close quarters with heavy knees and elbows, showing off his background in traditional Muay Thai nicely.
And of course, his best knockout to date – over Junior Dos Santos at UFC 256 – was set up by a vicious elbow to the side of the head from the clinch.
So, if he were to force Ngannou into the clinch, would Ciryl Gane – who at 6'5" and 250lbs could probably match 'The Predator' for pure physicality – have an advantage? It's certainly possible. It would give him another route to victory in a fight that could make him the UFC heavyweight champion.
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