It was a picture-perfect UFC debut for Ciryl Gane, who submitted the previously undefeated Raphael Pessoa in the first round at UFC Uruguay.
Ciryl Gane is a highly-touted heavyweight prospect. The Frenchman was undefeated in professional Muay Thai and had signed a deal with GLORY Kickboxing before the UFC came calling with this opportunity. All three of his professional victories have come by knockout in the TKO MMA promotion in Canada. He won the organization’s heavyweight title in his professional debut and has defeated opponents with a combined record of 16-3.
Raphael Pessoa will also be making his promotional debut at UFC Uruguay. The undefeated Brazilian has more experience than his counterpart, coming in at 9-0. Of his nine wins, Pessoa has six knockouts and one submission. After fighting in his home country of Brazil for his first eight bouts, Pessoa made his American debut under the LFA banner in September. Pessoa and Gane were supposed to fight in TKO in March, but the event was canceled. Now they’ll get to settle their unfinished business.
Pessoa threw a couple of heavy kicks early in round one, with one getting caught, and Gane dumping the Brazilian to the ground. Gane welcomed him back to the feet, wanting a striking battle. Pessoa stayed aggressive from the outside, with Gane pressuring from the center of the Octagon in the opening minutes. A heavy overhand right seemed to land on Pessoa, who marched forward and countered with a some strikes to back Gane up.
With a little more than a minute left in the first round, Gane clinched up with Pessoa, and was eventually taken down. But, Gane ended up in side control. Gane then quickly moved for an arm-tirangle choke, and got the tap from the Brazilian. It was the third first-round finish in his four-fight career.
Octagon debut ✅
Octagon win ✅
Octagon finish ✅🇫🇷 @Ciryl_Gane makes a statement in his UFC debut! #UFCUruguay pic.twitter.com/UGRTgkC3Bi
— UFC (@ufc) August 10, 2019
Result: Ciryl Gane def. Raphael Pessoa by submission (arm-triangle) in Round 1 (4:12)
Check out all of the results from UFC Uruguay here!
