Ciryl Gane not surprised he opened as betting favorite over Francis Ngannou
Interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane is not surprised that he opened as the betting favorite against the champ Francis Ngannou.
Following his third-round TKO win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 265, the oddsmakers released the opening odds for a potential title unification bout pitting Gane against Ngannou, and Gane opened up as a slight -130 favorite to win the fight. Speaking to TMZ Sports in the days following his title fight victory over Lewis, Gane admitted that he is not surprised Las Vegas has him as the betting favorite.
“No (I’m not surprised at the odds), because in this sport, every time the people — I don’t know the right word in English — but because I just won, that’s why (I’m the betting favorite). All the people are like, ‘You’re so good, wow, you did it.’ Yeah, (I have to) stay focused. I’m going to have to go back to the training camp, and we will see,” Gane said.
As Gane said, a lot of the betting lines in MMA have to do with ‘what have you done for me lately,’ and there aren’t many hotter heavyweights in the sport right now than Gane, who has won three fights in the Octagon in 2021 alone. Since starting his career as a professional mixed martial artist in 2018, Gane is a perfect 10-0 in MMA including a 7-0 mark in the Octagon since joining the UFC in 2019, so it’s not a huge shock to see him as the favorite for the Ngannou fight. Even though Ngannou is 11-2 in the UFC and is coming off of five straight knockout wins, we have seen “The Predator” lose twice in the Octagon to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, whereas we have never seen Gane show any real holes in his game.
Who is your money on in the upcoming UFC heavyweight bout between Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou?
