Ciryl
Gane claims he wasn’t completely himself when he lost to
Jon
Jones at UFC 285.
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Gane was the interim heavyweight champ when Jones returned to the
Octagon after a three-year hiatus to fight for the vacant title.
“Bones” barely crossed the two-minute mark in the first round
before taking Gane down and securing a guillotine submission
victory. It was a disappointing performances from “Bon Gamin,”
whose only other career loss came against Francis
Ngannou.
Looking back at the loss, Gane doesn’t recognize himself. Gane
claims he was totally disoriented on fight night, which was
reflected in his performance. Known for his elusive movement and
range control, Gane didn’t display any of that against Jones.
However, Gane believes the loss was eventually beneficial, as it
allowed him to refocus on himself and return with a vengeful
spirit.
“When I look back at it, it was obvious that I was not there,” Gane
said on the UFC 310 Countdown show. “It represented exactly
how I felt on the day of the fight. It was a total misunderstanding
of what was happening. I don’t recognize myself there. It’s
something l’ve never done in my life. I’ve never fought that way
before. My distance management, my movement, the alertness that I
love to show, I had none of that. Looking back, I think that this
experience may have been beneficial. For me personally, it helped
me to refocus on myself, it gave me a spirit of revenge. A
competitive spirit.”
Gane bounced back from the loss against Jones with a stoppage win
over Serghei
Spivac at UFC Paris this past September. The French standout is
now scheduled to take on Alexander
Volkov in a high stakes rematch at UFC 310
on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Volkov dropped a
unanimous decision against Gane in their initial encounter in 2021.
“Drago” is currently riding a four-fight winning streak that
includes three finishes and has shown significant development in
recent fights.