Ciryl Gane And The Technical Advancement of Heavyweight MMA
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UFC 265 was a fantastic fight card. But looming over everything was the dismantling of Derrick Lewis by relative UFC newcomer, Ciryl Gane. The Frenchman displayed technical superiority on the feet that hasn’t been seen in the UFC above 205. The picking apart of Lewis, a fan favorite, sent shivers down the spine of the entire heavyweight division.
Heavyweight and light heavyweight has long been lambasted as the divisions where technical skills were not all that common. When compared to flyweight and bantamweight, seeing high skill technical fights standing up is all too common. But at heavyweight, swangin’ and bangin’ (Derrick Lewis reference) has been the norm.
We’ve seen technical fighters at heavyweight before. Think about Curtis Blaydes and Fabricio Werdum. Both very good fighters on the ground. There has been decent strikers in the past as well like Junior Dos Santos but nothing to the degree of Ciryl Gane.
Ciryl Gane and Muhammad Ali
Don’t shit yourself, I’m not calling Ciryl Gane the Muhammad Ali of the UFC heavyweight division or anything that wild. But I am pointing out some of the similarities of how Ali and Gane approached fighting at heavyweight. Both Ali and Gane are very mobile, something that can baffle a plodding heavyweight and tire them out for chasing. Ali famously had the “Ali Shuffle” where he danced around the ring picking apart his opponents. Ali was fast, crafty and tough to keep in front of you. That is what Gane brings to the table.
Where Muhammad Ali had the shuffle, the “Gane Shuffle” is that karate side stance that we see in old Conor McGregor and Stephen Thompson today. This motion is completely alien to the UFC’s heavyweight roster. In addition to Derrick Lewis, this karate stance has really baffled some of the better strikers in the division like Dos Santos and Rozenstruik.
Creative Striking At It’s Finest
What makes Ciryl Gane so baffling to his opposition which is due to the creativity and breadth of his standup. Gane beat Lewis from pillar to post out striking him 112-16 going to the head 50 times, the body 16 times and the legs 32 times.
But with Gane, it’s not just where he’s throwing his strikes. It’s how he’s doing it. Specifically with the leg kicks at UFC 265, Gane utilized velocity differences to keep Lewis guessing. In an analogy baseball fans can relate to, Gane essentially has a low kick fastball and change up.
When a pitcher loads up a batter with a fastball, coming north of 100 miles an hour at times, it conditions the batter to that speed. After a fastball or two, the pitcher can come with a change up which clocks in around the mid 80s on the speed gun. The batter will swing early get a strike. The method works in reverse as well. A pitcher will come with a change up or another off speed pitch and then burn them with a fastball. The conditioning of the batter by the pitcher gives him an advantage.
Gane does this to Lewis with leg kicks, which slow down and take power away from a clubber like Derrick Lewis. He conditioned Lewis with a few low kicks that didn’t come at him too fast. Next thing Lewis knew, Gane launched a missile at his legs, folding the heavyweight’s legs.
Speaking of legs, Cyril Gane’s work fantastic. His footwork is above and beyond any heavyweight we’ve seen. When he’s not straight up running away from Derrick Lewis (which is warranted if we’re being honest), he does well exiting out on angles leaving his opponents swinging at air. In a division where plodding forward and throwing haymakers is the norm, Gane shines like someone out of The Matrix.
Future Fights: Gane vs. N’Gannou, Jones, Miocic
The fights for Ciryl Gane are tremendous coming forward. Francis N’Gannou is obviously next. With Bon Gamin holding the interim belt, unification is the only fight in the cards. Much was made of the improvement of Francis N’Gannou upon beating Stipe Miocic. But has his striking, has his footwork, and most importantly has his patience improved that much? But, fighting Gane is incredibly frustrating and he will need every ounce of it he can get when he and N’Gannou lock horns.
Then there’s the potential Jon Jones matchup, a legacy fight. Jones will be fast and longer than Gane. His reputation will precede him. But he’s struggled with stand up fighters recently, namely Dominick Reyes. Will he be able to handle striking several tiers higher than that in Gane?
Finally there’s the heavyweight GOAT, Miocic. More title defenses than any heavyweight champion and relatively smart fight IQ. Will Miocic be able to solve Gane?
The possibilities are endless for the UFC’s newest “champion.” Of course N’Gannou is first and will not be taken lightly. But should he be able to conquer that mountain, the world is Ciryl Gane’s oyster…
