Ciryl Gane

Gane, whose father is of Guadeloupean ancestry, was born in La Roche-sur-Yon. His father, Romain Gane, was a Division d’Honneur football player and bus driver. Gane participated in basketball and football as a child. Gane chose to work in sales at a furniture company and enrolled in a work-study program in Paris despite his athletic potential. During this period, Gane was introduced to Muay Thai by a former classmate.

Ciryl’s adventure in combat sports began when he was exposed to Muay Thai by a former classmate while participating in a work-study program. Following the encounter, Gane began training in Muay Thai, and he made his professional debut in 2014 at Show Thai 10 versus Cyril Omhari. He won the fight through first-round knockout and went on to win his next four Muay Thai matches before competing for the AFMT Muay Thai National Title against Imed Soussi. In order to win the championship, Ciryl used a third-round TKO. Before switching to MMA in 2018, Gane won his next four matches in Muay Thai, compiling a 13-0 record.

Ciryl competed in his first mixed martial arts match against Bobby Sullivan at TKO Fight Night 1 for the vacant TKO Heavyweight Championship. Sullivan was quickly dispatched by Gane, who used a front choke to finish him out in the opening frame. Before departing the competition to join the UFC in 2019, Gane successfully defended his championship twice against Roggers Souza and Adam Dyczka.

At UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche versus Raphael Pessoa, Ciryl Gane made his UFC debut. Gane overwhelmed Pessoa and won the first round through submission. He then faced Don’Tale Mayes, and won via heel hook submission in the third round to get his first Performance of the Night bonus.

Ciryl defeated Tanner Boser, Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozensruik, and Alexander Volkov in his subsequent four fights in the organization. Gane’s impressive winning streak earned him a matchup with Derrick Lewis for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Lewis was out-punched by Ciryl, who utilized her Muay Thai prowess to TKO him in the third round and win the championship.

Now Gane will face his biggest challenge against Jon “Bone” Jones. Both men are going to fight in UFC 285 for the vacant UFC Heavyweight title as former Champion Francis Ngannou and UFC had some problems with his contract and he was released.