UFC heavyweight star backed to beat Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones

12/29/2021

Cyril Gane has been backed to dethrone heavyweight champion against Francis Ngannou before defeating Jon Jones next year.

The French star has recorded a meteoric rise through the division defeating the likes of Alexander Volkov and Derrick Lewis on his journey to a title shot.

His world-title challenge will come next month against current champion Ngannou who has reigned dominant in the division for several fights.

UFC light-heavyweight Anthony Smith has backed the young talent to have his hand raised as champion next month and believes he is capable of matching the ability of any heavyweight.

Smith told SiriusXM: “I think Ciryl Gane is the real deal. I’m making the bold prediction, I think Ciryl Gane beats Francis Ngannou, and I think he does it fairly handily. I also think Ciryl Gane beats Jon Jones.

“When Jon Jones finds someone who matches him physically and athletically, I think that then you’re going to have to check down on his list to skill and technique. I think with Ciryl Gane, I think he loses that battle. I think Ciryl Gane matches his size and athletic ability, his speed, his movement.

“Ciryl Gane’s absolutely the better striker for sure. The little caveat there is if Ciryl Gane can defend a takedown, I think that he beats Jon Jones, and I think it’s boring.

"I think it’s a game of darts, and they’re just throwing darts at each other. I just think that Ciryl Gane is the higher-level striker. I think he manages distance as well as – maybe a little bit better than – Jon Jones.

"The clinch game is going to be a little funky with those guys, but if they’re just at a distance and Jon Jones plays his game, I think he loses at his own game there.”

Ngannou's future is currently uncertain with the promotion after Dana White told the Cameroonian he would be free to leave upon expiration of his contract.

However he will be looking to retain his title against Gane who he has already began a feud with after snubbing his handshake backstage earlier this year.

Can Cyril Gane become heavyweight champion with victory over Francis Ngannou? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below

The pair used to train as sparring partners during earlier days but Ngannou has had an ongoing feud with Gane's coach Fernand Lopez.

And he has branded his former coach at the 'MMA Factory' gym in Paris "evil" after the pair separated on poor terms.

“Recently, I saw something about him," Ngannou said of Lopez in a video on his official YouTube channel.

"They sent me something like, where his coach Fernand said I told [UFC matchmaker] Mick Maynard that Ciryl is good but not that good or something like that.

"I’m like, ‘Man, this is nasty,' this is not a fair game anymore – it’s not a fair game anymore. I understand this position is not; you want to take everything, you want to destroy somebody.

"But to go after him like that, associate other people; I mean, I think this is evil – but I know the man, and I know how it processed.”

Source: Read Full Article