Ciryl Gane reveals the mistake which led to Jon Jones loss

We haven’t heard much from Ciryl Gane since he lost a pivotal fight to Jon Jones in March. The fight, which earned Jones the UFC heavyweight title, was a quick finish that had fans wondering if Gane had lost on purpose. 

Now, in an interview with MMA Junkie, Gane is speaking out about the loss and revealing what he thinks happened. 

It wasn’t the strength of Jones that did him in.

“Like I said before this fight, I knew already Jon Jones is an athlete,” Gane said. “He’s an athlete like me. He did a lot of sports; me too. He’s not only just physical but in his brain. Everything is ready to be a good athlete and physically also. And I knew already he’s going to be ready for this fight. He trained a lot during the three years, so I was not surprised by that, no.”

It was a missed left cross that led to the fateful takedown and subsequent submission. 

“I don’t know why exactly, but I cannot manage my distance very well during some moments, and I did a mistake,” Gane said. “It wasn’t possible to manage the distance, and I did some stuff to break this atmosphere, and I did a mistake at this moment.

“Maybe he knew already I’m going to do this mistake, and he took his opportunity. … During all the camp Fernand Lopez told me every time we started training, jab and no big hand. Just jab. And what I did? A big hand. Big mistake, and he took the opportunity.”