5 potential opponents for Ciryl Gane after his latest setback

The Frenchman suffered his first career loss on Saturday

Ciryl Gane suffered the first loss of his professional MMA career at UFC 270 on Saturday. He was defeated by Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision with the heavyweight championship on the line. While this must have been a bitter pill to swallow, there are plenty of exciting matchups still in play for the Frenchman.

Ciryl Gane leaving the octagon after suffering his first professional loss at #UFC270 https://t.co/f9vYYpfYIg

Ngannou's win was the last fight of his contract, so his future is currently up in the air. 'The Predator' also has a torn MCL, so he could be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines which might make an interim championship fight necessary.

'Bon Gamin' would definitely be in the conversation to fight for an interim title if that ends up being the case. If not, he will have to bounce back with at least one win before he can re-enter the title picture given his last outing.

In any case, here are five fights that might make sense for Ciryl Gane upon his return to the octagon:

#5. Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa

Tuivasa is ranked No.11 with a record of 13-3

Tai Tuivasa faces the biggest fight of his career when he takes on Derrick Lewis on February 12. While he is currently only ranked No.11 at present, a win over the No.3 Lewis would immediately elevate him near the top of the division and set up a number of big fights. Perhaps Ciryl Gane could be one of them.

UFC 271 main card announced: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 headliner, Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa co-main mmafighting.com/2022/1/23/2289… https://t.co/fn7kuFogs8

If an interim title fight is needed, Gane, who came so close to being champion, taking on a surging Tuivasa would be a high-profile bout suitable for such a big stage.

Even if that is not the case, the UFC may feel Tuivasa needs one more big win before entering the title picture and could view 'Bon Gamin' as an appropriate challenge. While there are a lot of things that would need to fall in place for this clash to happen, we could see these two go at it in Gane's next bout.