Prime UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane proved he’s a multi-talented athlete when he took half in a charity match alongside a number of the greatest names in soccer.
Earlier than he turned among the best MMA fighters on the planet, Gane spent a lot of his time enjoying soccer and by all accounts, he’s truly fairly good.
So, when the chance got here to partake within the ‘Match For Heroes’ between Marseille legends and Staff UNICEF, and be coached by former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, he took it with each arms.
‘Bon Gamin’ obtained the prospect to indicate off his abilities alongside former Premier League stars Didier Drogba, Jens Lehmann, Esteban Cambiasso, Robert Pires, Marcel Desailly, and Samir Nasri in October 2021.
The 6ft 5inch knockout artist clearly impressed and was invited again for the subsequent match which occurred in Might.
Gane, who’s surprisingly nimble on his ft for an enormous man, shocked followers by displaying off his fancy footwork throughout a mazey midfield run.
Later within the sport, he did one thing rather more predictable when he left one of many opposition gamers in a heap on the ground after they went body-to-body for the ball.
Away from soccer, the previous interim heavyweight champion is ready to headline a historic card when the UFC heads to France for the first time ever.
It’ll be a landmark event for the promotion, who are trusting Gane to headline in Paris against the always dangerous and entertaining Australian Tai Tuivasa.
Gane is looking to get back to winning ways after falling short in his bid to unify the heavyweight division when he fought his former teammate, Francis Ngannou, earlier this year.
Prior to that, the 32-year-old was unbeaten in 10 MMA fights and had picked up several high-profile wins over top fighters like Derrick Lewis, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Junior dos Santos.
Tuivasa has recently become a surprise contender at heavyweight after stringing together five consecutive knockout wins over Lewis, Augusto Sakai, and Greg Hardy.
‘Bam Bam’ has endeared himself to UFC followers attributable to his wacky walkouts and post-fight celebrations that just about at all times contain him consuming beer from a shoe.
Whoever wins within the UFC Paris predominant occasion will put themselves in line for a shot on the UFC heavyweight title that’s anticipated to be on the road later this yr.
Ngannou at the moment holds the belt however is sidelined attributable to harm and his UFC future is in limbo as he’s but to re-sign with the promotion after his newest contract expired.
Which means that an interim title could possibly be up for grabs when Jon Jones makes his divisional debut, doubtlessly in opposition to former champion, Stipe Miocic, who hasn’t fought since Ngannou knocked him out at UFC 260 in March 2021.
