MMA Fight: To the joy of his local crowd, Ciryl Gane defeated Tai Tuivasa by knockout as he made a case for another title chance at UFC Paris.
In the promotion’s first major event in the nation since the sport was legalised there in 2020, Gane and Australia’s Tuivasa staged an electrifying main event at the Accor Arena on the banks of the River Seine.
In the second round, Tuivasa delivered a sledgehammer right hand that knocked Gane to the ground, but Gane fought back with a barrage of vicious body shots that nearly brought the fight to an end.
Gane stunned Tuivasa with a head kick two minutes into the third, and even though the teak-tough Australian initially resisted going down, Gane increased the pressure.
With 37 seconds left, Gane tracked his opponent down and delivered devastating strikes with both hands to secure the KO. The fight ended with a right uppercut.
“If anyone had any doubts about how good the French crowd are, there are no more doubts anymore,” said Gane, who called for another title fight after his unanimous decision loss to UFC champion Francis Ngannou in January.
Even though he lost a title fight to the current champion Israel Adesanya back in February, Robert Whittaker put on a polished striking display to out-point Marvin Vettori in the co-main event that may put him in the running for another shot at the belt.
The six-fight main programme got off to a slow start for the enthusiastic home crowd as English fighter Nathaniel Wood defeated Frenchman Charles Jourdain by unanimous decision. The French flag’s red, white, and blue were projected on the octagon floor between bouts.
They soon had cause to cheer as Parisian William Gomis avoided Jarno Errens’ risky effort at a late submit in order to emerge victorious on the judges’ scorecards.
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