It wasn’t that way back that Ciryl Gane was the very apparent way forward for the Heavyweight division.
Again in 2021, a 31-year-old Gane went on a three-fight win streak over established high Heavyweights, together with his UFC 310 opponent Alexander Volkov. Not solely did the French up-and-comer win, he was completely dominating. He 50-45’d Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik then brutally outclassed Derrick Lewis, and it was clear that future had arrived. Gane was the clear inheritor obvious to then-champion Francis Ngannou in addition to the best menace to his title reign.
Since then, Gane has come up brief reverse Ngannou and Jon Jones, a pair of totally comprehensible losses. What’s extra regarding than the outcomes on paper is that Gane has been stagnating on a technical degree. Debatably, he’s getting worse, and a Volkov rematch three years later proved an ideal demonstration of his slide from grace.
Actually, Volkov is a wonderful foil for Gane, a fellow rangy kickboxer with roughly a fifth of the bodily expertise. “Drago” won’t ever be as quick nor as highly effective as “Bon Gamin.” Gane styled on him in simply his ninth skilled struggle, whereas Volkov was over 40 bouts into his professional MMA profession.
That’s the kind of loss that shuts down goals. How is an older fighter with extra expertise imagined to get higher quicker than his youthful peer? It goes towards all frequent sense, and the exceptions (like Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold) are memorable for his or her rarity.
On this case, it’s clear that Volkov has embraced the grind during the last three years and chased small enhancements. His development has been evident in his current win streak, just like the medical win over former coaching companion and feared puncher Sergei Pavlovich. “Drago” is barely getting sharper and extra strategic, and he introduced that depth into this rematch.
Gane … not a lot. Within the first struggle, his pace and counters virtually instantly rendered Volkov defensive. When the Russian was extra dedicated to urgent ahead on this match up, Gane surrendered the center and wasn’t capable of dictate the exchanges. Instantly, the dynamic was totally different and worse for the French fighter.
On the toes, Gane feels stagnant. Most of his kick tips stay unchanged, and his boxing remains to be based mostly extra in athleticism than kind. He doesn’t throw together, however he does nonetheless have high quality timing. It’s the identical technique we noticed in his preliminary UFC win streak with maybe a bit much less confidence now that he’s been damage on a couple of events.
As for the wrestling/grappling? Gane’s takedown protection was its common degree of respectable, however his decision-making was abysmal. In some unspecified time in the future within the struggle, it seems that Gane suffered an harm, which may often excuse a few of his extra lackluster moments. There’s not an harm within the e-book, nevertheless, that forces a fighter to repeatedly fall for guillotines, kimuras, and heel hooks in a detailed struggle.
Gane falling again for a heel hook within the first spherical was a gobsmack second. The identical actual determination price him spherical 5 — and thus the choice and thus the undisputed title — towards Ngannou virtually three years in the past, and he does it once more? For no purpose and with out fatigue as an element? Good fighters don’t get heel hooked! It’s virtually all the time a foul concept for everybody besides absolute specialists to surrender high place in pursuit of the leg lock, and even then it doesn’t work on the elite degree.
That second serves as baffling proof of bigger issues. I don’t know whether or not Gane’s focus stays a difficulty, or if he’s merely maximized his skills on the MMA Manufacturing unit. Regardless of the case, he was extraordinarily fortunate to stroll away with the choice right here in a struggle he was massively favored, which doesn’t bode nicely for his title aspirations.
Gane remains to be proficient sufficient to proper the ship, however one thing has to vary.
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