Gane Wants Title Shot Next: It Will Be A ‘Little Shame’ If Jones Skips Line

Ciryl Gane will try to launch himself into the heavyweight title mix with a win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik later this evening (Sat., Feb. 27, 2021) at UFC Vegas 20 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Gane, who turned pro less than three years ago, has amassed a 4-0 record inside of the Octagon since his debut in 2019. This includes his recent TKO victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos back in December. That win validated Gane as a legit contender entering 2021.

Now, “Bon Gamin” has the opportunity to capitalize on that momentum with a win over Rozenstruik in his first ever UFC main event. Gane believes a dominant performance over “Bigi Boy” at UFC Vegas 20 will put him on the doorstep of a UFC heavyweight title shot.

“I think if I win this Saturday, no matter who is in the line, I’m going to go after the belt,” Gane told reporters earlier this week.

Despite Gane’s recent success and evolving skill set he’s not the only heavyweight contender jockeying for a shot at UFC gold. Guys like Derrick Lewis, who is coming off a knockout win over Curtis Blaydes (see it HERE), and Jon Jones, who plans to make his heavyweight splash later this year, would have dibs over Gane.

It’s not something Gane completely agrees with, especially when it comes to Jones skipping the heavyweight line, but it’s simply the name of the game.

“That’s crazy, and I think it’s possible because he’s a bankable guy, so it makes sense,” Gane said of Jones. “Some people could do this before him. It’s a little bit a shame, but I can understand. He’s a bankable guy.”

Jones, who officially relinquished his hold over the UFC’s light heavyweight division last May, is expected to fight the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 sometime later this year. Gane, who used to train with Ngannou, believes that “Predator” will be able to defeat Miocic in the rematch and secure his matchup with Jones.

“If Francis learned from the first fight with Stipe, he should be winning this fight before the end,” Gane said.

While the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division plays out over the next couple of months Gane will have to focus all of his energy on taking out Rozenstruik later tonight at UFC Vegas 20. Rozenstruik has compiled a 5-1 UFC record since his debut two years ago and has finished each of those wins by knockout. He’s a legit threat and a fighter that should give Gane a real run for his money.

“I think the people are really excited about this fight,” said Gane. “High-level striking, and two young guys just arriving in the top of the division. So, of course, you can expect a big fight.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 20 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 8 p.m. ET.