Ciryl Gane admits he was eager for Francis Ngannou rematch but now just focused on UFC title

Ciryl Gane accepts that if he never gets to fight UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou again, that’s fine.

Gane (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was close to dethroning Ngannou in their title unification bout at UFC 270 in January, but he ultimately fell short. Gane was up two rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards, but Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was able to use his grappling to rally and win the fight.

It was a tough pill to swallow for the formerly unbeaten Frenchman. And while it took time for him to get over the loss, he has now moved on from the drama-filled chapter of fighting his former teammate.

“I’m OK,” Gane told MMA Junkie. “There were a few months it was a little bit, ‘No, I want Francis.’ But anyway I just want the belt now. This is my goal. I just want to just go to the top and no matter if it’s Blaydes or Stipe (Miocic) or Jones or Francis.”

Gane was en route to winning Round 5, which would have won him the fight, but a costly mistake on the ground resulted in him walking away empty handed at UFC 270. Despite getting out-grappled in the fight, Gane is still confident in his ground game.

“During the fight I was aware because everything I saw I watched after,” Gane said. “This is exactly the feeling I had during the fight, so I was really aware. I was really aware, so I did some mistakes. A lot of people talk about the wrestling game, but honestly, he did some takedown. But just because my leg was on his shoulder, so it was really simple to go down and after, because I escaped a little bit and he was on my back, and that’s why we go back again on the ground.

“And after the ground game, I don’t feel a lot of ground game from Francis. He blocked a little bit the game, but he don’t try to submit me. He don’t try to do a big ground and pound. So I was a little bit frustrated about this fight, because it was really close. He did very well, so that’s why he won, but it was really close.”

Gane felt like Ngannou wasn’t very active on the ground but lauds him for his fight IQ and taking the necessary path to victory.

“In the striking I was better. I think in the ground game I was better, and in the wrestling game it was a little bit like that (50-50),” Gane added. “When he go down with me, he blocked the game. He stayed on top and like that he won his points, and he did exactly what he must do for winning this game, so that’s why I got a lot of respect, and now I know the experience helps a lot.”