"Do you think Gane would have finished him without that?" - Brendan Schaub discusses whether Ciryl Gane's allegedly illegal strike on Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris led to stoppage
Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa put on a show at the UFC Paris heavyweight headliner. 'Bon Gamin' knocked his Australian counterpart out in the third round but was criticized for allegedly landing an illegal strike on the back of Tuivasa's head.
The strike was one of many in a sequence that eventually led to 'Bam Bam' being knocked out after multiple strikes from Gane.
Former UFC fighter-turned-comedian Brendan Schaub weighed in on the incident on his podcast Thiccc Boy. He said:
"There is one punch for sure though. That left hook uppercut shovel punch is what knocked him out. I don't think Gane's dirty. I think he panics and he's trying to get the guy out there by any means necessary. For Tai Tuivasa, you should be mad that you got hit by the shovel uppercut that knocked you out. You know those are the issues."
Schaub dismissed the notion that Gane was not sporting in his actions. He put it down to an instinctive action that occurred in the heat of the moment. Schaub further questioned if the eventual outcome would have been influenced by one unfortunate strike:
"Do you think he would have finished Tai Tuivasa without that? I think so. Are those back of the head hits the main thing that are the issue of why you lost? Absolutely not, absolutely not."
Catch Brendan Schaub's comments on his YouTube channel:
Junior dos Santos calls out Ciryl Gane for 'illegal' strike against Tai Tuivasa
Former UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos came out in criticism of Ciryl Gane for his back-of-head strike on Tuivasa. The Brazilian fighter tweeted out his opinion on the strike in the aftermath of UFC Paris. He wrote:
"What a dirty fighter this Gane is Again hitting the back of the head Nad now what are those 'fight experts' will say about it? @ufc @danawhite"
Check out the former UFC fighter's tweet:
Que cara sujo esse Gane
De novo batendo na nuca, o que esses “especialistas” vão dizer agora?
.
What a dirty fighter this Gane is
Again hitting the back of the head
Nad now what are those “fight experts” will say about it?
@ufc @danawhite https://t.co/EP6NUlwmWs
Dos Santos tagged both the UFC and president Dana White and demanded an answer to Gane's actions, which he felt compromised Tai Tuivasa. The former heavyweight champion may still harbor feelings of being wronged from his own meeting against Ciryl Gane.
In Dos Santos' last UFC fight at UFC 256, he fell short to a knockout from Gane. The finishing sequence included a nasty elbow to the head which went unnoticed when the fight was stopped. Although 'Cigano' protested the stoppage to the referee, he was not entertained.
The fighter later filed an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to overturn the result to a no-contest or disqualification, but there is no final word on a decision yet.