Ciryl Gane therefore lost her bet. That of winning the most prestigious title (that of the heavyweights) of the UFC, the most… prestigious league of MMA. He lost to American Jon Jones at UFC 285 by submission in the first round. The American league sticks a figure to its events when a world belt is at stake. In front of 18,000 fans massed in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, the MMA Factory fighter, originally from Roche-sur-Yon, came very close to his dream.
It was after only two minutes and four seconds spent in the octagon that Jones, 35, won the title in this category, after ten years of almost undisputed domination in light heavyweight, proving right to many observers who consider him the greatest fighter of all time. Gane had struck Jones, somewhat awkwardly with a kick that landed in the area of his opponent’s genitals, who winced in pain. The Vendéen thus collected “USA! US! from the excited crowd that filled the T-Mobile Arena.
Then Gane got tricked into being taken down by Jones, one of whose great strengths is his wrestling skills. And the experienced American did not fail to finish, forcing “Good kid” to ask the referee to stop the fight.
“Modern Day Gladiators”
Gane, 32, who concedes his second defeat in 13 fights, was attacking a mountain: one of the greatest fighters in history, in his own words. “This belt is the most beautiful of all in a sport that is the most complete and versatile of all, told us Gane before entering the cage. Anyway, that’s my opinion… We MMA fighters are modern day gladiators and maybe, I mean maybe, after this fight I will be symbolically considered the strongest man of the planet. It’s cool, right? »
The Vendéen had already tried to win the world heavyweight belt in January 2022 in Los Angeles. Unanimously, the judges designated the Franco-Cameroonian Francis Ngannou the winner. “Bon Gamin” was then inclined for the first time in twelve fights.
Nevertheless, the Frenchman took advantage of Ngannou’s departure from the UFC, while Dana White, boss of the organization, dreamed of seeing the former homeless man face Jones. The latter had not fought since February 2020 and his victorious defense of his light-heavyweight title (-93 kg) against Dominick Reyes. If cases of doping, violence and narcotics have punctuated his career, “Bones” has dominated his category during his career, during which he won 26 of his 28 fights. The 35-year-old American climbed into the upper category (-120 kg) for this UFC 285. A more than winning choice.