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UFC 265: Lewis vs Gane - Discussion Thread
- Thread starter svmr_db
- Start date
I used to like Karolina Kowalkiewicz and had high hopes for her but dang she has been on a downward slide. I bet on her (once) against Felice Herrig and that was a nail biter. A loss here and it might be time to retire.
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I am going to keep it light, but it’s too much fun betting on Derrick Lewis near or beyond +300 odds when he has a stylistic disadvantage, only for him to connect and put the lights out
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There is just no way to pass up Chiesa +130. He's straight ragdolled 4 guys in a row at 170, including a better grappler than Luque in RDA.
Chiesa isn't well rounded but he's a beast since he stopped trying to cut an absurd amount of weight, he's looked MASSIVE compared every WW he's faced (again, the fact he ever made 155 is utterly mind boggling).
I actually favor him here to do the same thing he's done to his last 4 opponents. Luque is obviously a very good fighter, well rounded and dangerous. But Chiesa isn't stupid enough to stand with Vincente. Mike knows what he is and won't veer from his gameplan.
Chiesa isn't well rounded but he's a beast since he stopped trying to cut an absurd amount of weight, he's looked MASSIVE compared every WW he's faced (again, the fact he ever made 155 is utterly mind boggling).
I actually favor him here to do the same thing he's done to his last 4 opponents. Luque is obviously a very good fighter, well rounded and dangerous. But Chiesa isn't stupid enough to stand with Vincente. Mike knows what he is and won't veer from his gameplan.
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And wow. Good looking card for betting. Loads of fights between -150 and +130 for odds making both sides playable if you have a lean
Casey Kenney -115, Michael Chiesa +120, And Pedro Munhoz +120 all stick out to me.
I have $100 on Chiesa +130 so far (thanks @mkess101 for calling it out. I put in at +130 and I bet that it's -110 by fight night), a little parlay on those three above, and $50 on Munhoz. Sorry Aldo, his output is just too low. Need to watch some of Kenny and Song, but Song I just feel like is overhyped for what he's shown.
Will see if some of the others whose opinions I value feel good about some of the other close odds fights for some 10 or 20 bets.
Casey Kenney -115, Michael Chiesa +120, And Pedro Munhoz +120 all stick out to me.
I have $100 on Chiesa +130 so far (thanks @mkess101 for calling it out. I put in at +130 and I bet that it's -110 by fight night), a little parlay on those three above, and $50 on Munhoz. Sorry Aldo, his output is just too low. Need to watch some of Kenny and Song, but Song I just feel like is overhyped for what he's shown.
Will see if some of the others whose opinions I value feel good about some of the other close odds fights for some 10 or 20 bets.
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A parlay of Menifield and Johns (+110) seems pretty dependable to me.
Menifield isn't perfect, but he's a big puncher training at a good camp in Fortis MMA going up against Ed Herman, a 40 year old career middleweight who was getting rocked bad in his last fight against Rodriguez. Always a chance that Herman can weather the early storm and take the last two rounds for a decision like Clark did against Menifield, but I think the damage in Round 1 puts him away. 40 fights and 40 years, it's just too much mileage to hold up against that.
I was all ready to bet on Johns when he and Dos Santos were about to fight two weeks ago, and nothing's changed since then. Johns wrestling keeps him on the feet where his jab sees him through to a clear decision.
Menifield isn't perfect, but he's a big puncher training at a good camp in Fortis MMA going up against Ed Herman, a 40 year old career middleweight who was getting rocked bad in his last fight against Rodriguez. Always a chance that Herman can weather the early storm and take the last two rounds for a decision like Clark did against Menifield, but I think the damage in Round 1 puts him away. 40 fights and 40 years, it's just too much mileage to hold up against that.
I was all ready to bet on Johns when he and Dos Santos were about to fight two weeks ago, and nothing's changed since then. Johns wrestling keeps him on the feet where his jab sees him through to a clear decision.
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Oh man, kinda bummed discussion on this card has already started due to low limits at the moment for this card.
But that said the cat is out the bag already, Cheisa is a play for sure at these odds in a nutshell. Luque has faced lots of strikers in his career and not many if any grinders and grapplers like Cheisa
But that said the cat is out the bag already, Cheisa is a play for sure at these odds in a nutshell. Luque has faced lots of strikers in his career and not many if any grinders and grapplers like Cheisa
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Agreed, already have a play locked in on Chiesa. I expect those odds to flip honestly. I remember Luque being taken down and controlled repeatedly by Leon Edwards and Chiesa is a better wrestler.
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I love Luque, one of my favourite fighters to watch. He's had a great run, very exciting to see put on a show l, but... Is his best win Belal Muhammad from 5 years ago? Or maybe Randy Brown?
He has been beating these guys accordingly, other than going to a split with Mike Perry of all people, but the guys he's finishing he should be finishing really.
Then he gets two real step ups along the way and loses both, to Wonderboy and Edwards.
Has anyone really tested Luque's TDD, and constantly wrestled and grappled for 3 rounds?
Not that I rate Chiesa massively, he seems to drop the ball in big fights and make some IQ mistakes, but he is huge, he will work constantly and he knows his path these days. He wrestles and grapples and sells out on it for the whole fight.
Loses to Pettis and Lee look terrible now, or at least stupid, but that was drained to a skeleton Chiesa and now we have welter weight Chiesa who looks as big as any middle weight. Wins over RDA and Magny I do rate.
Can Chiesa get past the offence of Luque, crowd him and grab the body lock or duck in on the hips and just force the wrestling from there?
He has been beating these guys accordingly, other than going to a split with Mike Perry of all people, but the guys he's finishing he should be finishing really.
Then he gets two real step ups along the way and loses both, to Wonderboy and Edwards.
Has anyone really tested Luque's TDD, and constantly wrestled and grappled for 3 rounds?
Not that I rate Chiesa massively, he seems to drop the ball in big fights and make some IQ mistakes, but he is huge, he will work constantly and he knows his path these days. He wrestles and grapples and sells out on it for the whole fight.
Loses to Pettis and Lee look terrible now, or at least stupid, but that was drained to a skeleton Chiesa and now we have welter weight Chiesa who looks as big as any middle weight. Wins over RDA and Magny I do rate.
Can Chiesa get past the offence of Luque, crowd him and grab the body lock or duck in on the hips and just force the wrestling from there?
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Just popped in to say that Luque's losses to Graves and Edwards largely came down to the wrestling stalling him out long enough for the decision to slip away from his grasp.
Mike did a very cheeky thing in giving away the sprawl position in the third to burn off the clock too, and rather than disengage Vicente was more than fine with kneeing the body until the horn, so I think Luque's decision making is there to be exploited by Chiesa.
Of course Michael could get hit hard enough to leave an opening for that lethal D'arce/Anaconda, so maybe Luque by sub could be worth something too.
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Chiesa looked seriously gassed in Round 3 with RDA. Makes me hold off a bit.
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His style is incredibly taxing, there's no question. But what have you ever seen from Luque that would make you think he is capable of keeping Chiesa off him for at least the first 2 rounds when RDA couldn't? And in his last fight, Mike did continue to push that pace and win grappling exchanges vs Magny (who's far from a garbage grappler) for 5 rounds.
However tired Mike looked in rd 3 vs RDA, he didn't show it in his last fight which went the full 25 minutes and he's back to a 3 rounder here.
In short, I'd be pretty surprised if cardio would end up the reason that Chiesa loses. I think either he gets sparked at some point by Vincente standing, or Mike dominates the grappling like he's done to everyone he's faced at 170. I favor the latter, and getting a + next to Chiesa is a gift imo.
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I’m going for Pedro Munhoz, and I hope everything is going to be good. It’s been a while since I’ve made any bets. I used to bet a lot back in high school, but now I do it rarely because I get bored way too fast. Lately, I’ve been into crypto gambling because it is trending, and I invested in bitcoin a year ago. At first, I wasn’t sure about it, but when I found a really good website with a list of the best crypto gambling websites of the year, it became way clearer. I chose the best one and played for the first time. Now I play on that website daily, and I just can’t stop. That is why I would love to recommend it to everyone.
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I'm leaning Jose Aldo, Chiesa, Gane, and Fiziev.
Get out now, I've had nothing but duds (Except Strickland and late Gooden bet) for the past two weeks. Gonna stay in the Main card and leave the Prelims alone mostly.
Jose Aldo Versus Pedro Munhoz
Get out now, I've had nothing but duds (Except Strickland and late Gooden bet) for the past two weeks. Gonna stay in the Main card and leave the Prelims alone mostly.
Jose Aldo Versus Pedro Munhoz
- They are both 34. Jose has some mileage on him, as well as height & reach.
- I think Jose Aldo mileage is mostly effecting his ability to threw low kicks. He's adjusted magnificently with a new focus on body shots.
- Aldo got finished brutally by Yan, however, he took half the year off and bounced back against Vera. With that being his 4th time being knocked out and his defensive soundness his chin isn't shot.
- This is 3 round Aldo
- Jose checked everyone of Vera's leg kicks!
- Jose has been repping fine Muay Thai since WEC. I don't think Pedro's calf kicks will play in at all, except some damage when his get checked too many times.
- Pedro eats 5.87 SApM for a reason, he's too slow. His defense & athleticism is lacking.
- He needs to eat one to give one. Aldo's durability is impressive.
- Pedro has a lot of cuts on him. He wears damages worse than his opponent, it cost against Edgar and it will cost him against Jose.
- 38 year old Frankie comfortably outboxed him, I think Aldo can too.
- Pedro BJJ is mostly nullified by Aldo's own and TDD
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I like both your picks.
Do you think Johns opponent significant reach advantage will impede the success of the jab?
I haven't done tape on his opponent, and his striking might suck with the reach advantage all the same.
Johns seems fast and powerful in his striking, he is with a good gym in Fortis MMA.
Ed Herman is on a four fight win streak. He acted his way to a win in the last fight. However, that is still a 3 very legitimate wins in a row there.
They might be cans, I still haven't looked into it. And Ed might just of have too many fights and too old to stand with menifield.
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Yeah he fights very safe. Much more composed than Blaydes...
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I put a high bet weeks ago on a Nunes/Gane parlay which is stuck now and Nunes will be void.Can't see the universe in which Nunes doesn't win that and I give Lewis 5% chance to catch Gane,Gane is just to quick and tehnical.I like Chiesa before the odds went down a bit and I like Kenney as he is now at even odds.Can't see how Song-Kenney doesn't go the distance,two tough as fuck bantams but there no odds for FGTD right now.Fiziev probably gonna win but odds are really low.Need to tape the rest a bit.
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Early prelims: 6 pm eastern (3 pm Pacific)
Prelims: 8 pm eastern
Main Card: 10 pm eastern
UFC 265
Houston, Texas, Saturday, August 7, 2021
parlay
+265
Manel Kape -197
Ciryl Gane -335, 4 inch Reach advantage
Johnny Munoz -230
Rafael Fiziev -335
#UFC265
Reading material I found:
..............................................................
Feb 2021:
Manel Kape is an excellent fighter and one of the best signings in 2020 by the UFC. Kape has been in the cage with the likes of Kai Asakura (twice), Ian McCall, Daniel Barez, Kyoji Horiguchi, Takeya Mizugaki, and Ulka Sasaki. He’s on a three-fight win streak beating Kai Asakura in their rematch for the vacant RIZIN title in his last fight.
Manel Kape is well-rounded but better on the feet. Though from time to time, Kape will engage in takedowns. On the mat, Kape does hold five submission victories. Along with being a submission threat, Kape scrambles very well. Even off his back, Kape is good at getting back to his feet being able to generate space and separate, or even attack with submissions off his back. On the feet, Kape displays athleticism, speed, explosiveness, and diversity. Starting on the outside, Kape will use a lot of feints before blitzing in with explosiveness and combinations with his hands. He’s really good at digging into the body mixing it up. He’s finished with a head kick before and is good at implementing kicks to control the pace of his style.
Manel Kape is a scrappy dude and that comes along with his chin being tested along the way. He goes shot to shot with opponents at times. And through it all, Kape has been wobbled, shaken, and stunned but never put away. Kape has shown to be more powerful and his chin has held up compared to the opposition he’s beat. Defensively he does need tuning everywhere but it’s tough to outwork the “Starboy.” Although he has an iron chin he still gets hit too much and his takedown defense needs some improvement.
While Kape is good off his back, as noted above, there are grapplers that can neutralize him like Ulka Sasaki was able to. That said, I only see Kape losing to top-level guys. I don’t see him as a champion but I see Manel Kape as a top 10 flyweight in the UFC.
Kape has an excellent chin and a tendency to just walk through punches.
August 2020:
Johnny Munoz is a well-accomplished grappler earning a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt by the time he was 20-years-old. He comes with a list of accolades, including being a ten-time NABJJF Gold Medalist, Grapplers Quest Advanced Champion, and a three-time No-Gi World Champion/IBJJF (Blue, Purple, Brown).
In MMA Munoz has six submission victories as a professional. A lot of time with a BJJ ace their wrestling struggles in MMA. While that’s not fully the case with Munoz he’s not exactly where he should be at. Munoz does transition to the back standing well and is capable of dropping levels. Striking his way into the clinch of his opponents is a bit of a problem, as he doesn’t cut angles but rather just walks straight in.
Once on the mat, Munoz is extremely dangerous having finished fights via various methods such as ground and pound, heel hook, rear-naked choke, and an armbar. Munoz has seamless grappling easily transitioning and getting dominant . The Hawaiian is one-dimensional being solely a grappler with next to nothing on the feet. Munoz has a decent job but plodding movement and a low stance which means he’s easily hit.
Munoz is always dangerous throughout the fight but has shown his gas tank isn’t all that deep. In my opinion, he should have gone the Contender Series route, as quality of competition is a concern, and he’s yet to be truly tested. If he was to improve in the striking department just a bit, however, he could evolve into a legit 135lb’er. Right now I see him more as a 50/50 fighter. Still a lot of talent with a somewhat high ceiling. Johnny Munoz reminds me of Jesse Arnett, a not-so-great wrestler with excellent grappling/submissions. Perhaps a tad better even.
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Feb 2019:
Rafael Fiziev was born in Kyrgyzstan, moving to Phuket, Thailand, three years ago. Now living in Thailand, he trains with the very accomplished Tiger Muay Thai & MMA camp. Fiziev had a lengthy career as a Muay Thai fighter and also is designated as a Master of Sport in hand-to-hand combat and kickboxing. “Ataman” had over 200 amateur Muay Thai bouts and now holds a pro record of 29-4. He has a long list of accomplishments including being a Kyrgyzstan Muay Thai Champion in 2007, 2008, and 2009, a Kazakhstan IFMA Muay Thai Champion, and winning the silver medal in the World IFMA Muay Thai Championship in 2009.
Ganehas an excellent vocabulary of strikes in his arsenal and fights well from both stances (although he primarily switches to southpaw in order to fire body kicks).
Going back-and-forth between his Muay Thai and MMA career, Fiziev made his MMA debut in July of 2015. While Fiziev has fought in China, South Korea, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan, he is still working on getting his visa to fight in the United States. He was supposed to fight on the Contender Series this past summer, but the visa issue held him back. He did get a key win shortly after at Titan FC 51, earning him an outright contract with the UFC.
With his background in Muay Thai, expect a lot of knees from Fiziev, as he does a good job using that weapon. To the more casual fans, you will know Fiziev from his back-bending matrix-style avoidance of a head kick in one of his Muay Thai fights that went viral. That clip is a preview of the solid head movement he possesses in the cage.
There is no question Fiziev wants to keep the fight standing. However, he does have a submission victory and a TKO win via ground-and-pound while in the mount. You’ll rarely see “Ataman” shoot for take downs because he is so dangerous on the feet with his aforementioned knees as well as his tendency to break his opponents down with hard leg kicks. Fiziev has the power to put guys away but it’s really his speed mixed in with his crazy explosiveness and his surgical striking/kickboxing that make him special. He hasn’t fought tough competition yet, but I expect a lot out of him.
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June 2019:
Ciryl Gane is a freak athlete who is a two-time national Muay Thai champion.
I believe he is also undefeated in professional Muay Thai at 12-0.
He has all the things that are rare in most heavyweight fighters. That’s athleticism, power, size, and technique. In his three MMA bouts with one submission win, Gane has really showcased his stand-up. He has a strong straight jab he uses often and it set up the overhands that he likes to throw. Gane is unorthodox is the way he throws his strikes like a standing hammer fist and a double punch. That said, he can be a little bit wild but he throws from so many different angles it makes him hard to read. The Frenchman has shown that his Muay Thai is legit as he has excellent knees, mixing it in with his strikes well.
He’s only gone beyond the first round once in his MMA career but has done so several times in his Muay Thai career. He’s shown with the pace he throws that he has some good cardio. He’s good at range with his looping hooks, overhands, kicks, stabbing jabs, and his 83″ reach. When the fight is in close quarters he has good control, elbows, and his fantastic use of knees.
The big issue with Gane is the unknown. He’s only 3-0 and hasn’t really been tested. We don’t know he reacts when getting hit flush and more so how is he off his back. He hasn’t really ended up on his back but hasn’t had an opponent legitimately hunting for the takedown. It’s hard to say how he will do long term, but this is a fantastic signing.
Gane has an excellent vocabulary of strikes in his arsenal and fights well from both stances (although he primarily switches to southpaw in order to fire body kicks).
His speed and footwork are going to be a nightmare for most heavyweight contenders and you could see Junior Dos Santos look visibly dejected after the first round against him.
While primarily a striker, Gane possesses some grappling acumen and he defeated his first two UFC opponents by way of submission.
...........................................
Quotes of the week:
Former UFC ref John McCarthy:
“I have no problem with an interim title when you have a champion that’s out, you have a champion who is hurt and can’t compete. You don’t want that division put on hold. This is the one time where I’m going to look and say I think the UFC is wrong. Most of the time I think they’re right with their interim titles, but this one makes no sense, because it doesn’t matter who wins this fight, be it Ciryl Gane or be it Derrick Lewis. They’re both very good fighters, and I really enjoy watching both of them. I’m not going to consider them a heavyweight champion. There’s a guy named Francis Ngannou that’s sitting there, and he’s waiting, and he’s got the real belt. It doesn’t matter what happens in this fight. You can take Francis Ngannou and not even have Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane, and put Jon Jones, and if Jon Jones wins, Jon Jones is going to be the heavyweight champion. It doesn’t matter who wins this fight, and that’s why it doesn’t make sense for me. As an interim championship, there was no need for it.”
Ciryl Gane:
"For this fight I'm gonna do perfectly 'Bon Gamin.' I'm gonna move well. I'm gonna touch him and he never touch me. I think I'm gonna do that... I think his weakness is he's a little bit flat footed, and that's good for me. This is really good for me. I think I'm gonna move a lot on my feet and I'm gonna touch him. I'm going in out, in out.
Everybody knows what is the strength of Derrick Lewis. Everybody knows that. And he knows, he really knows that and that's why he's had some success in his former fights... That's why this guy is really dangerous. I'm gonna be careful of that.
I don’t want one fight. I don’t want one fighter. I want to fight everybody. This is a sport to me. Every fight I’ve had I’ve fought with a good feeling, not with a bad feeling. I just want to put on a great performance for the fans. No matter who [I fight], I want to do my job.
No, I think it’s going to be Francis for sure. If I beat Derrick and I have the [interim] belt, this is a ticket to be the [top] contender,” he says, shutting down the idea of defending his interim title against another contender. No, no, no. I think this makes more sense.
No, that’s not my target. That’s really not my target. Obviously, it’s better for business. But that’s really not my target,” he says of remaining undefeated. “Every time I go to the cage, every time I say, ‘Okay, I can win. But I can lose.’ Anything is possible. I don’t know what’s going to happen. So yes, I’m ready to lose. Seriously, I’m already proud of myself if I lose. I’ve never lost in my life in MMA or Muay Thai, but I’m not afraid of that. I’m really not afraid of that.”
I plan to finish the fight before the fifth round. This is my mission and I think it is achievable. This is possible, because if you look at Lewis's statistics, each of his battles - whether it is a victory or a defeat - it ends before the final bell. I will apply pressure, thow a lot of punches - I will make good statistics. If I win, I plan to do it by KO. This is my prediction."
Prelims: 8 pm eastern
Main Card: 10 pm eastern
UFC 265
Houston, Texas, Saturday, August 7, 2021
parlay
+265
Manel Kape -197
Ciryl Gane -335, 4 inch Reach advantage
Johnny Munoz -230
Rafael Fiziev -335
#UFC265
Reading material I found:
..............................................................
Feb 2021:
Manel Kape is an excellent fighter and one of the best signings in 2020 by the UFC. Kape has been in the cage with the likes of Kai Asakura (twice), Ian McCall, Daniel Barez, Kyoji Horiguchi, Takeya Mizugaki, and Ulka Sasaki. He’s on a three-fight win streak beating Kai Asakura in their rematch for the vacant RIZIN title in his last fight.
Manel Kape is well-rounded but better on the feet. Though from time to time, Kape will engage in takedowns. On the mat, Kape does hold five submission victories. Along with being a submission threat, Kape scrambles very well. Even off his back, Kape is good at getting back to his feet being able to generate space and separate, or even attack with submissions off his back. On the feet, Kape displays athleticism, speed, explosiveness, and diversity. Starting on the outside, Kape will use a lot of feints before blitzing in with explosiveness and combinations with his hands. He’s really good at digging into the body mixing it up. He’s finished with a head kick before and is good at implementing kicks to control the pace of his style.
Manel Kape is a scrappy dude and that comes along with his chin being tested along the way. He goes shot to shot with opponents at times. And through it all, Kape has been wobbled, shaken, and stunned but never put away. Kape has shown to be more powerful and his chin has held up compared to the opposition he’s beat. Defensively he does need tuning everywhere but it’s tough to outwork the “Starboy.” Although he has an iron chin he still gets hit too much and his takedown defense needs some improvement.
While Kape is good off his back, as noted above, there are grapplers that can neutralize him like Ulka Sasaki was able to. That said, I only see Kape losing to top-level guys. I don’t see him as a champion but I see Manel Kape as a top 10 flyweight in the UFC.
Kape has an excellent chin and a tendency to just walk through punches.
- Striking: A
- Kickboxing: B-
- Clinch: C+
- Wrestling: C+
- Grappling: B
- Striking Defense: C+
- Takedown Defense: C+
- Cardio: B+
- Biggest Strength: On the feet
- Biggest Weakness: Striking defense
August 2020:
Johnny Munoz is a well-accomplished grappler earning a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt by the time he was 20-years-old. He comes with a list of accolades, including being a ten-time NABJJF Gold Medalist, Grapplers Quest Advanced Champion, and a three-time No-Gi World Champion/IBJJF (Blue, Purple, Brown).
In MMA Munoz has six submission victories as a professional. A lot of time with a BJJ ace their wrestling struggles in MMA. While that’s not fully the case with Munoz he’s not exactly where he should be at. Munoz does transition to the back standing well and is capable of dropping levels. Striking his way into the clinch of his opponents is a bit of a problem, as he doesn’t cut angles but rather just walks straight in.
Once on the mat, Munoz is extremely dangerous having finished fights via various methods such as ground and pound, heel hook, rear-naked choke, and an armbar. Munoz has seamless grappling easily transitioning and getting dominant . The Hawaiian is one-dimensional being solely a grappler with next to nothing on the feet. Munoz has a decent job but plodding movement and a low stance which means he’s easily hit.
Munoz is always dangerous throughout the fight but has shown his gas tank isn’t all that deep. In my opinion, he should have gone the Contender Series route, as quality of competition is a concern, and he’s yet to be truly tested. If he was to improve in the striking department just a bit, however, he could evolve into a legit 135lb’er. Right now I see him more as a 50/50 fighter. Still a lot of talent with a somewhat high ceiling. Johnny Munoz reminds me of Jesse Arnett, a not-so-great wrestler with excellent grappling/submissions. Perhaps a tad better even.
..............................................................
Feb 2019:
Rafael Fiziev was born in Kyrgyzstan, moving to Phuket, Thailand, three years ago. Now living in Thailand, he trains with the very accomplished Tiger Muay Thai & MMA camp. Fiziev had a lengthy career as a Muay Thai fighter and also is designated as a Master of Sport in hand-to-hand combat and kickboxing. “Ataman” had over 200 amateur Muay Thai bouts and now holds a pro record of 29-4. He has a long list of accomplishments including being a Kyrgyzstan Muay Thai Champion in 2007, 2008, and 2009, a Kazakhstan IFMA Muay Thai Champion, and winning the silver medal in the World IFMA Muay Thai Championship in 2009.
Ganehas an excellent vocabulary of strikes in his arsenal and fights well from both stances (although he primarily switches to southpaw in order to fire body kicks).
Going back-and-forth between his Muay Thai and MMA career, Fiziev made his MMA debut in July of 2015. While Fiziev has fought in China, South Korea, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan, he is still working on getting his visa to fight in the United States. He was supposed to fight on the Contender Series this past summer, but the visa issue held him back. He did get a key win shortly after at Titan FC 51, earning him an outright contract with the UFC.
With his background in Muay Thai, expect a lot of knees from Fiziev, as he does a good job using that weapon. To the more casual fans, you will know Fiziev from his back-bending matrix-style avoidance of a head kick in one of his Muay Thai fights that went viral. That clip is a preview of the solid head movement he possesses in the cage.
There is no question Fiziev wants to keep the fight standing. However, he does have a submission victory and a TKO win via ground-and-pound while in the mount. You’ll rarely see “Ataman” shoot for take downs because he is so dangerous on the feet with his aforementioned knees as well as his tendency to break his opponents down with hard leg kicks. Fiziev has the power to put guys away but it’s really his speed mixed in with his crazy explosiveness and his surgical striking/kickboxing that make him special. He hasn’t fought tough competition yet, but I expect a lot out of him.
..............................................................
June 2019:
Ciryl Gane is a freak athlete who is a two-time national Muay Thai champion.
I believe he is also undefeated in professional Muay Thai at 12-0.
He has all the things that are rare in most heavyweight fighters. That’s athleticism, power, size, and technique. In his three MMA bouts with one submission win, Gane has really showcased his stand-up. He has a strong straight jab he uses often and it set up the overhands that he likes to throw. Gane is unorthodox is the way he throws his strikes like a standing hammer fist and a double punch. That said, he can be a little bit wild but he throws from so many different angles it makes him hard to read. The Frenchman has shown that his Muay Thai is legit as he has excellent knees, mixing it in with his strikes well.
He’s only gone beyond the first round once in his MMA career but has done so several times in his Muay Thai career. He’s shown with the pace he throws that he has some good cardio. He’s good at range with his looping hooks, overhands, kicks, stabbing jabs, and his 83″ reach. When the fight is in close quarters he has good control, elbows, and his fantastic use of knees.
The big issue with Gane is the unknown. He’s only 3-0 and hasn’t really been tested. We don’t know he reacts when getting hit flush and more so how is he off his back. He hasn’t really ended up on his back but hasn’t had an opponent legitimately hunting for the takedown. It’s hard to say how he will do long term, but this is a fantastic signing.
- Striking: A
- Kickboxing: C
- Clinch: A
- Wrestling: D
- Grappling: D
- Striking Defense: B-
- Takedown Defense: ?
- Cardio: B-
- Biggest Strength: Muay Thai
- Biggest Weakness: Lack of Experience
Gane has an excellent vocabulary of strikes in his arsenal and fights well from both stances (although he primarily switches to southpaw in order to fire body kicks).
His speed and footwork are going to be a nightmare for most heavyweight contenders and you could see Junior Dos Santos look visibly dejected after the first round against him.
While primarily a striker, Gane possesses some grappling acumen and he defeated his first two UFC opponents by way of submission.
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Quotes of the week:
Former UFC ref John McCarthy:
“I have no problem with an interim title when you have a champion that’s out, you have a champion who is hurt and can’t compete. You don’t want that division put on hold. This is the one time where I’m going to look and say I think the UFC is wrong. Most of the time I think they’re right with their interim titles, but this one makes no sense, because it doesn’t matter who wins this fight, be it Ciryl Gane or be it Derrick Lewis. They’re both very good fighters, and I really enjoy watching both of them. I’m not going to consider them a heavyweight champion. There’s a guy named Francis Ngannou that’s sitting there, and he’s waiting, and he’s got the real belt. It doesn’t matter what happens in this fight. You can take Francis Ngannou and not even have Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane, and put Jon Jones, and if Jon Jones wins, Jon Jones is going to be the heavyweight champion. It doesn’t matter who wins this fight, and that’s why it doesn’t make sense for me. As an interim championship, there was no need for it.”
Ciryl Gane:
"For this fight I'm gonna do perfectly 'Bon Gamin.' I'm gonna move well. I'm gonna touch him and he never touch me. I think I'm gonna do that... I think his weakness is he's a little bit flat footed, and that's good for me. This is really good for me. I think I'm gonna move a lot on my feet and I'm gonna touch him. I'm going in out, in out.
Everybody knows what is the strength of Derrick Lewis. Everybody knows that. And he knows, he really knows that and that's why he's had some success in his former fights... That's why this guy is really dangerous. I'm gonna be careful of that.
I don’t want one fight. I don’t want one fighter. I want to fight everybody. This is a sport to me. Every fight I’ve had I’ve fought with a good feeling, not with a bad feeling. I just want to put on a great performance for the fans. No matter who [I fight], I want to do my job.
No, I think it’s going to be Francis for sure. If I beat Derrick and I have the [interim] belt, this is a ticket to be the [top] contender,” he says, shutting down the idea of defending his interim title against another contender. No, no, no. I think this makes more sense.
No, that’s not my target. That’s really not my target. Obviously, it’s better for business. But that’s really not my target,” he says of remaining undefeated. “Every time I go to the cage, every time I say, ‘Okay, I can win. But I can lose.’ Anything is possible. I don’t know what’s going to happen. So yes, I’m ready to lose. Seriously, I’m already proud of myself if I lose. I’ve never lost in my life in MMA or Muay Thai, but I’m not afraid of that. I’m really not afraid of that.”
I plan to finish the fight before the fifth round. This is my mission and I think it is achievable. This is possible, because if you look at Lewis's statistics, each of his battles - whether it is a victory or a defeat - it ends before the final bell. I will apply pressure, thow a lot of punches - I will make good statistics. If I win, I plan to do it by KO. This is my prediction."
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