Fight Coverage
Main Event Spotlight | UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac
Take A Deeper Look At The Heavyweight Clash Between Ciryl Gane And Serghei Spivac September 2 In Paris
The UFC returns to Paris, France this Saturday for UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac at Accor Arena.
In the main event, French heavyweight Ciryl Gane looks to rebound from his loss to Jon Jones in March against rising contender Serghei Spivac, who’s collected three consecutive victories, all by finish.
UFC Paris Fight By Fight Preview
While Gane has yet to crack the code in his two attempts at the undisputed heavyweight title, his name has sat atop the list of contenders for over two years, and for good reason. Throughout his UFC career thus far, Gane has shown elite striking unlike any heavyweight the UFC has ever seen.
While heavyweights are traditionally known for their size, strength and power, Gane shines with his speed and technicality. Almost exactly one year ago, Gane fought Australian powerhouse Tai Tuivasa, who had five straight knockouts entering the bout.
While Gane did get clipped by a massive right hand late in the second round, he dominated nearly every minute of the fight, and always looked one step ahead of Tuivasa. In less than three rounds, Gane out struck Tuivasa 110-29 and recorded a knockdown of his own en route to a TKO victory.
Nearly the same can be said for when Gane captured the interim heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis in 2021. Gane’s overwhelming output simply wore Lewis down over three rounds before eventually earning him a stoppage victory.
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Gane earned significant strike differentials of +82 vs Lewis and +81 vs Tuivasa, the seventh and 10th largest differentials in heavyweight history. His +2.83 strike differential per minute is the fifth largest in heavyweight history (min. 5 fights).
Not only can Gane get it done with his hands, but his kicks are some of the best in the heavyweight division, as well. Gane’s 46 leg kicks landed against Jairzinho Rozenstruik is tied for second most landed in a heavyweight fight, and his 40 leg kicks against Alexander Volkov ranks fourth.
So, here’s where the trouble lies. In his two title fight losses, against Francis Ngannou and Jones, Gane’s weakness was his inability to keep up with his opponents’ wrestling. While showing glimpses of dangerous submissions off his back against Ngannou, Gane ultimately couldn’t defend well enough to get back to his feet when he needed to. This led to Ngannou stacking up control time, and Jones to finding a submission finish in the first round.
PARIS FREE FIGHT: Ciryl Gane vs Tai Tuivasa
Enter Serghei Spivac, Gane’s upcoming opponent this Saturday. Spivac has shown an exceptional capability to take his opponents down. Last time out, Spivac challenged the aforementioned Lewis. In only three minutes, Spivac was able to take “The Black Beast” down six times.
Spivac secures 5.05 takedowns per 15 minutes, the 3rd highest rate in heavyweight history. Spivac found success on 65.9 percent of his takedown attempts, the highest accuracy in heavyweight history. His 27 total takedowns in his 10 UFC fights also ranks third all-time in the division’s history.
While some wrestlers will take their time on the mat, Spivac has relentless pressure from top position, constantly landing ground-and-pound strikes while his opponents try to escape. In doing so, Spivac’s opponents leave themselves open defensively, allowing the “Polar Bear” to lock in any one of the many submissions he has in his back pocket.
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With seven submissions to his name, Spivac has finished opponents via armbar, kimura, rear naked choke, neck crank and arm-triangle choke.
Spivac has earned top position in 36.5 percent of his Octagon time, the third largest percentage among active heavyweights, eighth all-time (min. 5 fights). Spivac’s ability to control his opponents enables his ground-and-pound. His 44 significant ground strikes against Jared Vanderaa is tied for the 10th most landed by a heavyweight in a single fight. His 162 total head strikes landed versus Carlos Felipe ranks sixth all-time.
Ciryl Gane Sits Down With John Gooden Ahead Of UFC Paris
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Ciryl Gane Sits Down With John Gooden Ahead Of UFC Paris
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More in-depth statistics continue to point toward Gane having an advantage on the feet and Spivac having an overwhelming advantage on the mat, which makes sense given their styles. So, what this boils down to is who can stay sharper defensively for longer.
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Being a five-round fight, Gane can continue his consistent approach: evade heavy strikes while slowly chipping away at his opponent round-after-round until it overwhelms him. The same can be said for Spivac. If he can take Gane down in the first round, what’s stopping him from shooting for takedowns over the course of the entire fight, tiring Gane out and leaving him susceptible to submissions?
Not only is this a great striker versus wrestler contest, but it has huge implications on the future title picture. Ranked No. 2 in the world, Gane can cement his place at the top of the contenders’ list with another win. For Spivac, adding a victory over a former interim champion to his three-fight win streak immediately puts him in the heavyweight Top 5 and a win or two away from a title shot.
UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac took place live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 2, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
