Paris, France – It was a fight we didn’t ask for, but possibly the fight we needed as two of the top 5 UFC heavyweight clashed at UFC Paris when #1 Ciryl Gane took on #3 Tai Tuivasa in the main event on Saturday night.
Gane (10-1) was fresh off losing his bid for the title when he lost a decision to current champion Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. It was the only loss on his record as the heavyweight holds wins over Derrick Lewis, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Junior Dos Santos to name a few.
Tuivasa (14-3) is a big fan favorite, but had been on a run in recent years riding a 5-fight win streak into UFC Paris. 5 fights, 5 finishes over Stefan Struve, Harry Hunsucker, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai and Derrick Lewis. When it seemed as though Tuivasa would see his way out following a unfortunate losing streak it looked like he finally turned it around.
Would we see Gane make another case for a title shot in his home country of France? Or would Tuivasa complete an improbable comeback into UFC heavyweight relevancy and possibly even make his title shot undeniable? We found out in the main event of UFC Paris at Accor Arena.
Round 1 was a feeling out process for both men, but Gane got to his groove quicker. It was a classic Gane round as he peppered Tai with all kinds of kicks to the legs, the body, and even snuck in some high kicks. Tai had trouble getting in close to land bombs, but he wasn’t anywhere near as successful as Gane.
Round 2 began much like the first and played out like it until Tuivasa landed a right hand that dropped Gane with about a minute left. Gane attacked the body like a madman and hurt Tuivasa to the body. Both men were nearly finished in that minute, but both survive to see a third.
Round 3 the body shots that Gane invested in the first two round began to pay dividends in this round. At one point he landed a jab on Tuivasa who seemed to pretend to be hurt and Gane went in trying to finish the fight. He wasn’t able to, and Tuivasa proved to be ok, but after that it was all Gane. Ultimately it was the body shots that forced Tuivasa’s hands down and Gane landed a clean right uppercut that dropped and finished the fight for France’s heavyweight king.
Official Result: Ciryl Gane def. Tai Tuivasa via R3 4:23 KO
