For the second consecutive year, ranked heavyweights headline in Paris, as Ciryl Gane faces off with Serghei Spivac.
Saturday marks Gane’s first appearance since his UFC 285 loss to Jon Jones, where he lasted just over two minutes against the longtime light heavyweight ruler, falling short in his second bid to claim the undisputed UFC heavyweight title. Last year, Gane was in a similar position and rebounded with a big stoppage win over Tai Tuivasa, but it’ll be interesting to see if the freshness of fighting at home has worn off and the pressure of trying to bounce back once again starts to wear on him here.
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Spivac began his UFC run with two losses in his first three starts, but since then, the 28-year-old has gone 6-1, posting three wins on either side of a loss to British contender Tom Aspinall. Over his last three outings, the Moldovan “Polar Bear” has taken things up a notch, registering stoppage wins over Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai, and Derrick Lewis by playing to his strengths on the ground and attacking his opponents with confidence.
Stylistically, this is a gripping matchup, as Gane’s only two losses have come in bouts where he was thoroughly out-wrestled, and Spivac is at his best when he looks to get inside and get his adversaries on the canvas.
How much has “Bon Gamin” improved since his last outing and can he keep Spivac from turning this into a wrestling match? Will the streaking mauler continue running roughshod over the competition or does Gane represent a level Spivac hasn’t quite reached just yet?
It’s a fascinating matchup to close out the show.