Ciryl Gane Looking To Finish Derrick Lewis Early If Fight Comes To Fruition
Ciryl Gane is willing to fight Derrick Lewis next.
Gane is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik to remain undefeated in the UFC. Lewis, meanwhile, is on a four-fight winning streak following an emphatic uppercut knockout of Curtis Blaydes last month.
Lewis has since spoken of Gane being a potential next opponent for him as they wait to see how the heavyweight title picture plays out.
“It all depends,” Lewis said. “I don’t know how the UFC wants to build up that Ciryl Gane guy or if they want to get him in there in the mix right away.
“I started getting tagged in the fight (clips on social media), because they said (Gane vs. Rozenstruik) still wasn’t worse than me and Francis. I’m like, ‘Damn. OK. Sh*t.’”
Gane certainly did receive criticism for the drab nature of his fight with Rozenstruik. Others, however, praised him for showing maturity and not taking damage against one of the heaviest hitters in the division.
Regardless, he is happy to oblige to Lewis’ callout and plans on finishing things early should a fight come to fruition.
“If the fight (Lewis) is going to be OK for the contract, I think I’d like to finish the fight before the end,” Gane told MMA Junkie. “Of course, because I know it’s good to finish the fight, but it’s better to finish the fight before the end. So if I can, I’m gonna do it.”
While Lewis lacks the overall skills of Gane, he has his ultimate weapon in his right hand that has seem him emerge victorious in a number of comeback wins.
Gane certainly acknowledges Lewis as a dangerous opponent but doesn’t plan on shooting on him as much as Blaydes did.
“You see the fight between Curtis and Derrick one week before? Blaydes, if he didn’t (shoot) too much with the wrestling, probably he would win the fight,” Gane added. “But he did just one mistake to go in front of Derrick Lewis and he did just one uppercut and he finished the fight. For me, the people say, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!’ but I don’t want to do the same game like Curtis Blaydes. It’s a little bit of a shame.
“… He doesn’t have a lot of skills, but this guy is f*cking dangerous. With one punch, just one punch, he can finish the game and he’s No. 2 in the rankings just with one punch. So yes, this guy is really dangerous.”
Who do you have winning in this matchup?
