Not only can Gane get it done with his hands, but his kicks are some of the best in the heavyweight division, as well. Gane’s 46 leg kicks landed against Jairzinho Rozenstruik is tied for second most landed in a heavyweight fight, and his 40 leg kicks against Alexander Volkov ranks fourth.
So, here’s where the trouble lies. In his two title fight losses, against Francis Ngannou and Jones, Gane’s weakness was his inability to keep up with his opponents’ wrestling. While showing glimpses of dangerous submissions off his back against Ngannou, Gane ultimately couldn’t defend well enough to get back to his feet when he needed to. This led to Ngannou stacking up control time, and Jones to finding a submission finish in the first round.
PARIS FREE FIGHT: Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa
Enter Serghei Spivac, Gane’s upcoming opponent this Saturday. Spivac has shown an exceptional capability to take his opponents down. Last time out, Spivac challenged the aforementioned Lewis. In only three minutes, Spivac was able to take “The Black Beast” down six times.
Spivac secures 5.05 takedowns per 15 minutes, the 3rd highest rate in heavyweight history. Spivac found success on 65.9 percent of his takedown attempts, the highest accuracy in heavyweight history. His 27 total takedowns in his 10 UFC fights also ranks third all-time in the division’s history.
