Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa slated for UFC Fight Night on September 3
Top ranked UFC heavyweight contenders clash late this summer, as no. 1 ranked former interim champion Ciryl Gane takes on no. 3 ranked Tai Tuivasa.
This bout is to go down on September 3, 2022, at a to-be-determined Fight Night event and venue.
Gane is coming off his title-unifying effort against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who he nearly defeated to become undisputed champion earlier this year back in January.
But, we saw Gane get handed his first defeat that night with 48-47’s across the board for Ngannou.
Ciryl Gane (10-1) vs Tai Tuivasa (14-3)
Gane came to the UFC with a record of just 3-0, having won the TKO heavyweight championship in his very first fight. He defended it twice prior to coming over as well.
Upon arriving in the worlds leading MMA promotion, Gane, to our surprise, would win his first two octagon bouts via submission (arm-triangle choke & heel hook). Coming to MMA as an undefeated kickboxing champion (13-0), this was incredibly impressive to see.
Then, in his four most recent victories, he’d defeat the likes of former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos (TKO), fellow kickboxing champion Jairzinho Rozenstruik (UD), former Bellator & M-1 Global heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov (UD), and Derrick Lewis (TKO) in his interim title bout back in August of last year.
Gane is truly a youth beyond his years in this sport, though he’s already 32 years old.
The same could be said for Tai Tuivasa, he’s certainly a youth beyond his years as well at 29.
Tuivasa came over to the UFC with a record of 6-0, and he too was a champion prior to joining the promotion.
He had won and defended the AFC heavyweight championship in his two fights prior to joining, and he also has a background in striking arts, both boxing (5-2) and kickboxing (14-2).
Upon arriving in the UFC, Tuivasa won his first three bouts with the promotion over the likes of Rashad Coulter (KO), Cyril Asker (TKO), and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (UD).
However, he’d fall pretty hard after this run, losing his next three-straight to former champion Junior dos Santos (TKO), former WSOF & PFL heavyweight champion Blagoy Ivanov (UD), and former WWFC heavyweight champion Sergey Spivak (arm-triangle choke).
Since then, Tuivasa has won his last five-straight over the likes of longtime UFC staple Stefan Struve (KO), Harry Hunsucker (TKO), Greg Hardy (KO), Augusto Sakai (KO), and Derrick Lewis (KO). The latter three victories awarded him Performance of the Night honors.
This is going to be a very interesting showcase.
One could reasonably think Gane will handily out-point Tuivasa. But, one shot from Tuivasa can put any man in the world unconscious. Who do you see walking away on top?
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