Massive heavyweight contender to corner during UFC Vegas 67 main event
The main event for this Saturday's UFC Vegas 67 at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, just got a little bit more interesting as a massive heavyweight contender is set to corner a teammate.
The promotion's European Twitter account tweeted a photo of Nassourdine Imavov and Ciryl Gane together in the octagon. The former heavyweight title challenger will be cornering his teammate as he looks to ascend the rankings in the middleweight division.
Teammates! 🇫🇷
@Ciryl_Gane flys in to corner @Imavov1 at #UFCVegas67 this Saturday! https://t.co/5DDBjRgDro
Imavov will compete against Sean Strickland, who stepped in on short-notice after former TUF winner Kelvin Gastelum was forced to withdraw from the event due to a mouth injury. 'Russian Sniper' is currently the No.12 ranked middleweight, riding a three-fight winning streak and has a great opportunity to get himself into the top 10.
Meanwhile, this will be 'Tarzan's second straight main event as he headlined the most recent Fight Night event, where he lost a split decision to Jared Cannonier. It was his second straight loss as he also lost to reigning middleweight champion Alex Pereira via first-round knockout this past July.
It's important to note that the fight will now be contested at light heavyweight, but the result will surely still hold merit in the middleweight rankings.
What's next for former UFC heavyweight title challenger Ciryl Gane?
THE HOMETOWN HERO JUST TORE THE ROOF OFF THE @ACCOR_ARENA!!!! 🇫🇷
[ @Ciryl_Gane | #UFCParis ] https://t.co/8jTZ5ndYqa
Ciryl Gane is in an interesting spot in the UFC heavyweight division. He is currently the No.1 ranked heavyweight, but he was also the most recent challenger for Francis Ngannou's title.
The reigning heavyweight champion has been sidelined for over a year due to his recovery from knee surgery. The promotion decided not to crown an interim champion during his absence and the reigning champion is also a free agent, so he's allowed to negotiate with other promotions.
Gane most recently bounced back from his loss to Ngannou by defeating Tai Tuivasa via third-round knockout in the first UFC event in Paris, France, this past September.
With that in mind, if 'The Predator' doesn't agree to terms on a new contract or his recovery requires more time, the promotion could also go in another direction and have 'Bon Gammin' fight Jon Jones for an interim title.