"Tai has to make it ugly" - Israel Adesanya breaks down strategy for Tai Tuivasa to beat Ciryl Gane at UFC Paris

Israel Adesanya has had his say on how Tai Tuivasa could pull off a win against Ciryl Gane in their heavyweight clash at UFC Paris this weekend.

In an interview on The Blakamoto & Oscar Show, Adesanya previewed the heavyweight battle, while analyzing how the Australian could play to his strengths. He said:

"I don't know what Tai's game plan is for the fight... I'd strike with [Gane] on the outside for a little bit, but then I'd have to get him on the fence and use my weight. If I was Tai, I would use my weight on him and Tai's good inside with the elbows. When he gets a good flow going, especially when he's on them, he throws them ba**s. Even fake a few takedowns. Tai can wrestle, why not? Just get him against the fence, pull him off the fence, create scrambles or create moments where the guy has to defend the takedown and you hit him on the way up. Tai has to make it ugly."

Watch Israel Adesanya talk about the Tai Tuivasa-Ciryl Gane fight below:

'Bam Bam' stunned the heavyweight division with an impressive win over Derrick Lewis last time out to take his win streak to five, his best run since joining the UFC in 2017. His victories also include beating the likes of Augusto Sakai, Greg Hardy, and a monumental win against the aforementioned Lewis.

KN😲CKED 😱UT C😵LD!

This is some run by Tai Tuivasa! 🤯

5️⃣ Wins in a row!
5️⃣ Finishes in a row!
5️⃣ KO’s in a row!

@bambamtuivasa has defeated the Black Beast! 😤

#UFC271 https://t.co/ChlzsXIzO5

Gane is a former interim heavyweight champion who lost a title unification match to Francis Ngannou earlier this year. However, with his array of skills and ability to dominate fights, he clearly starts as the favorite over Tuivasa. The winner of the contest will potentially get a shot at the heavyweight title in the near future.

Michael Bisping thinks Tai Tuivasa could adopt different strategy against Ciryl Gane

Michael Bisping believes that Tuivasa will try to change things up instead of going with his usual hard-striking approach against Gane. After Ngannou's change in style to beat the Frenchman in his last fight, Bisping believes Tuivasa could follow suit. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The Count' said:

"Now the reality is, we're not gonna see Tai Tuivasa hit the takedowns, but we didn't think we'd see Francis Ngannou hitting takedowns. Who knows? Maybe that is a part of the game plan because, with respect to Ciryl, it certainly showed a weakness. It maybe showed a little bit of the game which is lacking there."

Watch Michael Bisping discuss Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa below:

However, Gane's first loss in his previous fight will see him highly motivated to return to winning ways and possibly another shot at the belt. The Frenchman's first professional fight came only four years ago, but he has improved massively with every fight in the organization.

Face Offs and Shoeys in front of the Eiffel Tower?! 😂

We've touched down for #UFCParis fight week!! https://t.co/ITD18Qs4Ir

The upcoming bout promises to be an interesting battle between two contrasting styles with high stakes on the line. With Tai Tuivasa proving his mettle in his recent outings in the UFC, Gane will have to be at his best to pull out a win in his home country this weekend.