Ngannou vs Gane: A New Era of UFC Heavyweights

Written by Garey Symington

1/17/22

A true clash of titans goes down this Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California as Heavyweight Champion, Cameroon’s Francis “The Predator” Ngannou, faces Interim Champ, France’s Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane, in this highly anticipated unification bout. In a division clouded by questions and controversy over the last year, with exciting young talent like Tom Aspinall, Tai Tuivasa and plenty more on the rise, this 2022 main event kickoff ushers in a new era for UFC Heavyweights.

We’ve never seen fighters like Ngannou and Gane before. On a recent UFC Live broadcast, Laura Sanko aptly compared Ngannou vs Gane to a sledgehammer vs a samurai sword due to the unprecedented power and skillful athleticism they respectively possess. This is the type of matchup that matchmakers dream about as fans will hold their breath to see if the movement of Gane can neutralize the raw power of Ngannou.

Let’s take a closer look at these freaks of nature.

In 13 UFC fights, Ngannou has 11 wins and 2 losses. Both losses (Derrick Lewis and Stipe Miocic) came by decision, and Francis has never won by decision. Aside from submitting Anthony Hamilton by Kimura way back in 2016, his other 10 UFC fights were all won by KO/TKO in the first or second round. If there is one plus of fighting Ngannou, it’s that he’s probably not going to surprise you with some crazy gameplan. He’s going to step in the octagon and try to take your head off, and casually holds the Guinness World Record for hardest punch.

Ciryl Gane (10-0) has as many pro wins as Ngannou has UFC knockouts, but if you judge him by that you’re a fool. He was a Muay Thai champion, amassing a record of 13-0 prior to his switch to MMA. His first pro MMA fight was in August of 2018, just 3 years prior to securing the UFC Interim Heavyweight strap. This type of meteoric rise is just as far from the norm as Ciryl Gane is from your normal Heavyweight contender. His coaches and training partners consistently reference his ability to learn quickly, adapt, and integrate new martial arts into his arsenal. He’s not even at his peak yet and has already defeated big names like Derrick Lewis, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Junior Dos Santos. It should also be noted that he finished Derrick Lewis in his most recent fight, who Francis lost to by unanimous decision back in 2018. He moves like no Heavyweight we’ve seen before and is well-rounded, notching 4 TKO, 3 DEC and 3 SUB across his undefeated career.

So, what happens when we get these two in the cage live on PPV?

As with any great matchup, there’s bad blood and history at play here. These two used to train together in Paris, which always makes for an interesting pairing and a bit less of the typical feeling out process in the cage. Gane also feels that he was disrespected by Ngannou, who ignored him in passing as both attended UFC 268. Much like the upcoming Covington vs Masvidal fight at UFC 272, this fight has “friends turned foes” written all over it. Ngannou also comes in with a chip on his shoulder after the Interim shot was offered up just 5 months after he won his belt, which many fans were shocked to see.

Stylistically, I think it’s obvious that Ngannou will be hunting the knockout while Gane aims to score with high level striking, distance management and responsible defense. I see Ngannou holding the center of the octagon, walking Gane down, as Gane mixes in diverse kicks and punches, keen to move laterally out of the pocket after delivering one or two. He’ll use his world class movement and athleticism to prevent Ngannou from getting settled, dictating the exchanges on his terms. One knock on Gane is that he hasn’t demonstrated much power for his size, so the last thing he (or anyone, for that matter) wants is to stand and trade with Francis. I give the edge to Gane on the ground, but I see this fight staying on the feet with Ciryl’s stock rising deeper in the fight as the more skilled striker. He will notch the higher scoring rounds and has shown solid cardio for his size, while there are some question marks for Ngannou in this department.

This betting line opened at even money and has swayed noticeably towards Gane (-155) over Ngannou (+135) as sharp bettors submit their bets. I parlayed Gane’s opening line with a couple layup hockey games (as I like to do when these UFC lines open weeks in advance) to get a nicer payout, but I’d still lay a bit of chalk at this price.

Ciryl Gane to win is my pick. For a bit better value, I may recommend taking him by decision.

Garey’s picks are 1-0 with The Fighting News

Athlete stats provided by Sherdog Forums

Betting lines via DraftKings Sportsbook