Ciryl Gane believes he should be fighting for UFC gold if he defeats Tai Tuivasa in the main event of UFC Paris on September 3.
Gane is coming off a five-round decision loss to Francis Ngannou for the undisputed heavyweight title and prior to that, he was the interim champ. However, Ngannou is currently rehabbing his knee and is in a contract dispute. All things considered, the Frenchman believes if he wins, he should get an interim title fight.
Ciryl Gane Wants Another Shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title
“I think if I win against Tuivasa, I think it’s gonna be a fight for the interim title against the winner of the next fight for the interim title,” Gane told MMA Junkie. “So this (loss to Ngannou) put me a little bit back, but this put me more challenge, so I’m OK. I’m a competitor, so I like that. That’s OK because some people say but you just lost like that (signals close fight) with Francis, you must have a revenge for the big belt and I said, ‘No, I’m OK with that.’”
We have a date, we have a place : now let's put in the WORK. 🦬 pic.twitter.com/g13aLy3982
— Ciryl Gane (@ciryl_gane) June 16, 2022
“It’s really complicated at the moment with this division,” he continued. “There are a lot of people in the top five and I think for the UFC to manage that it’s a little bit complicated so I can understand the UFC’s plan and I’m OK with that.”
Although there has been talk of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for the interim title fight, the fight is still not made and Gane believes he could fight one of them for the interim belt if everything goes his way.
Gearing Up for a Strong Push
“If in September I win against Tuivasa, if it’s possible I’m going to push,” Gane said. “I don’t want to wait a lot of time. So I don’t know when the fight is going to happen between Jones and Stipe, but if I win against Tuivasa, I want to do a fight early after this fight for the interim title.”
Before any of that can happen, however, Gane will need to beat Tuivasa in the main event of UFC Paris on September 3, which is easier said than done.