The octagon arrives in France for the first time in its history this week for UFC Paris, and the men headlining the card have had their first face off.
There’s no bad blood between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa; with heavyweights, there rarely needs to be. The division in recent years has been stacked with jovial giants equally capable of making you laugh and delivering a crushing knockout. Perhaps that good nature just comes with the fact that at their size, anyone can win on any given night with one well-timed, well-placed punch.
On Tuesday, the pair faced off under the shadow of the iconic Eiffel Tower, and not surprisingly, Tuivasa’s signature shoe-y made an appearance — though no suds were downed just yet. That, noted Gane, will come after the fight. But Australia’s Tuivasa did get to show his counterpart how to do a shoe-y, with the pair even putting a little twist on it, Parisian style.
The first face off of #UFCParis with a signature @BamBamTuivasa twist 👟 pic.twitter.com/ktgSyYcctW
— UFC (@ufc) August 30, 2022
With France legalizing MMA just ahead of the coronavirus pandemic setting in, the UFC makes its first trip to the country this Saturday for UFC Paris at the Accor Hotels Arena in Paris. In addition to Gane vs. Tuivasa, former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker faces Marvin Vettori in another key fight for the 185lb division. The 12-fight card has seen a number of shake-ups in recent weeks, and several fighters will be making their promotional debut.
Currently, this Saturday’s card features the following bouts:
- Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
- Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori
- Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov
- John Makdessi vs. Nasrat Haqparast
- William Gomis vs. Jarno Errens
- Charles Jourdain vs. Nathaniel Wood
- Abus Magomedov vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- Farès Ziam vs. Michal Figlak
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Joaquin Buckley
- Benoît Saint-Denis vs. Gabriel Miranda
- Khalid Taha vs. Cristian Quiñónez
- Stephanie Egger vs. Ailin Perez
