UFC: Ciryl Gane in profile

Everything you need to know about mixed martial artist, and UFC heavyweight star, Ciryl Gane.

Ciryl Gane

Born:	12th April 1990
Age:	33
Birthplace:	La Roche-sur-Yon, France
Resides:	Nogent-sur-Marne, France
Height:	6ft 4
Reach:	81ins
Style:	Muay Thai
Weight Division:	Heavyweight
UFC Record:	9-2 (4KO)
MMA Record:	12-2 (6KO)

Gane seeking title chance

Ciryl Gane is a former UFC interim heavyweight champion who has twice fought for the title outright, losing on both occasions - his only professional defeats.

Gane took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to call out Tom Aspinall after he became the new interim heavyweight champion - but the British star played down any suggestion the pair could be set to meet in the near future.

"That's interesting after I just called him out, went to France [to watch Gane beat Sergei Spivac], and he turned the fight down," Aspinall told reporters after beating Sergei Pavlovich to become interim champion. "I think he should fight [Jailton] Almeida. I think them guys should fight each other first and see what happens there."

Gane is currently the #2 in the UFC heavyweight rankings and should get another chance to become heavyweight champion, but he may have to bide his time as the heavyweight situation is complicated in UFC at present.

Muay Thai beginnings

Gane is a bit of a late starter when it comes to his fighting career as he played various team sports as a youth, before being introduced to Muay Thai by a former classmate.

The Paris-native made his professional debut at the age of 26 in an AFMT Muay thai heavyweight title fight against Jeremy Jeanne - claiming a second-round knockout.

Gane amassed a 14-0 record (9 Kos) in Muay Thai before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ciryl Gane UFC title fights

Gane made his UFC debut at UFC 156 in Montevideo, Uruguay, in August 2019 against Raphael Pessoa and claimed a first round submission win with an arm-triangle choke.

The Frenchman claimed wins over Don'Tale Mayes and Tanner Boser in 2019 but then had to wait a year for his next outing due in part to injury issues affecting potential opponents. Gane returned to the octagon in December 2020 with a TKO victory over Junior dos Santos in the second round.

In his next fight, Gane’s clash with Jairzinho Rozenstruik was the headline event and he was taken the full distance and claimed a decision win. He followed up that success with a victory over Russian star Alexander Volkov and in his next bout he became the interim UFC heavyweight champion with a third round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis.

Gane was unable to claim the heavyweight championship outright, however, as he suffered a first defeat in any professional fighting discipline against Francis Ngannou.

The 33-year-old bounced back with a victory over Tai Tuivasa to set up another title shot, but again he fell short against Jon Jones, who won via a first round submission thanks to a guillotine choke.

Gane was last in action in September as he faced Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night 226, winning via TKO in the second round.

Ciryl Gane Next Fight

Gane has had a taste of what it feels like to be the UFC heavyweight champion having held the title on an interim basis, and his goal will be to claim that prize outright.

The French fighter may have to wait for his chance, however, as Jon Jones is the current champion and he is recovering from injury. ‘Bones’ is expected to make a return against Stipe Miocic, who he had been scheduled to face before his injury blow.

A clash with Aspinall could be a possibility, but the British interim champion says he is prepared to wait for a clash with Jones himself.  

Ciryl Gane Net Worth

According to reports, Gane has a net worth of around $1.5million.

How to watch Ciryl Gane

Gane is contracted to the UFC and TNT Sports have exclusive rights to the promotion in the UK. 

Ciryl Gane's Trainer

Gane is trained by Fernand Lopez, a Cameroonian-French former mixed martial artist, who compiled an MMA record of 10-7 before retiring and moving into coaching.

Lopez initially worked for Free Fight Academy before deciding to start his own gym. The former middleweight opened a gym called 'Cross Fight' which was later rebranded as the 'MMA Factory'.

The most notable student to have worked under Lopez is Francis Ngannou, who became the UFC Heavyweight champion in 2021 but has now moved into boxing. As well as Gane, the likes of Nassourdine Imavov, Ion Cuțelaba, Christian M’Pumbu and Taylor Lapilus have been trained by Lopez.