Ciryl Gane

Ciryl Romain Gane (born April 12, 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist, actor, and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2014, Gane has also formerly competed for TKO Major League MMA where he was the Heavyweight Champion. As of September 22, 2026, he is #11 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Early life Gane was born in La Roche-sur-Yon in the Vendée department. His paternal family has roots in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe. His father, Romain Gane was a bus driver, and footballer in the Division d'Honneur. As a youth, Ciryl played football and basketball. Despite his sporting talent, he decided to work in sales at a furniture store and he joined a work-study program in Paris. During this time, a former classmate introduced him to Muay Thai.

Muay Thai career

Gane made his professional debut on June 4, 2016, in a AFMT Muay thai heavyweight title fight against Jérémy Jeanne. He won the fight by a second-round knockout.

After a decision win against Samih Bachar, Gane was scheduled to fight the K-1 veteran Brice Guidon at La Nuit Des Titans. He beat Guidon by a third-round knockout.

Gane was scheduled to defend his AFMT title against Jonathan Gengoul at Muay Thai Spirit 5. He won the fight by a first-round knockout.

At Warriors Night, Gane beat Bangaly Keita by a third-round knockout. He was then scheduled to fight the multiple-time WBC Muaythai champion Yassine Boughanem at Duel 2. Gane won the fight by decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Coached by Fernand Lopez, Ciryl Gane made his professional MMA debut in 2018. He was first contracted to the Canadian MMA promotion TKO, where his first fight was for the vacant TKO heavyweight championship, against Bobby Sullivan. He won the title fight in the first round through a front choke.

He defended the heavyweight championship a month later against Adam Dyczka, winning the fight in the second round via a TKO. His third fight in TKO, and his second title defense, was against Roggers Souza, which he won in the first round by a TKO.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2019 Gane made his promotional debut on August 10, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 against Raphael Pessoa. Gane won the fight by an arm triangle choke at the end of the first round.

Gane faced Don'Tale Mayes on October 26, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren. Gane won the fight via a heel hook in the third round, earning him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Gane faced Tanner Boser on December 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

2020 Gane was scheduled to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. However, on March 5, 2020, it was announced that Gane was forced to pull out from the event after suffering pneumothorax during training. The bout was eventually rescheduled for July 11, 2020, at UFC 251. Subsequently, the pairing was cancelled a second time and scrapped from this event in mid-June as Abdurakhimov was removed from the bout for undisclosed reasons. In turn, Gane was expected to face Sergei Pavlovich on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174. Pavlovich however had to pull out because of an injury. Therefore the original fight against Shamil Abdurakhimov was scheduled again on September 26, 2020, at UFC 253; however, the bout was rescheduled again to UFC Fight Night 180 on October 18, 2020. The bout fell through once again as Abdurakhimov pulled out due to undisclosed reasons on September 28, 2020, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Ante Delija. On October 14, 2020, it was announced that the bout was cancelled due to Delija's contractual problems with his previous deal with the PFL.

Gane faced Junior dos Santos on December 12, 2020, at UFC 256. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round.

2021 Gane faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik on February 27, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 186. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Gane faced Alexander Volkov on June 26, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 190. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Gane faced Derrick Lewis on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265 for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. He won the one-sided fight via technical knockout in round three. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.

2022 Gane faced Francis Ngannou for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270. Gane was ahead after the first two rounds, but Ngannou switched to wrestling and controlled him for the majority rounds three through five. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, marking his first defeat in any martial arts competition.

Gane faced Tai Tuivasa on September 3, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 209. He won the fight via knockout in round three. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

2023 Gane faced Jon Jones for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship on March 4, 2023, at UFC 285. He lost via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.

Gane faced Serghei Spivac on September 2, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 226. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. The win also earned Gane his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

2024 Gane was scheduled to face former Bellator Heavyweight World Champion Alexander Volkov in a rematch on October 26, 2024 at UFC 308. However, due to Volkov's knee injury, the bout was moved and took place on December 7, 2024 at UFC 310. Gane won the close fight by a controversial split decision. 19 out of 20 media outlets scored the bout for Volkov. UFC CEO Dana White apologized to Volkov after the bout saying he thought Volkov had won the bout and the head of the commission explained to White what was thought to be the reasoning of the judges' scorecards.

2025 Gane competed for the heavyweight championship for the third time against current champion Tom Aspinall on October 25, 2025 at UFC 321. During a competitive first round with both men exchanging, Gane extended his hand poking Aspinall in both eyes. Aspinall was unable to continue and the fight was ruled a no contest.

2026 Gane won the interim heavyweight championship against former UFC Middleweight and two-time UFC Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira on June 14, 2026 at UFC Freedom 250. He won the championship by technical knockout in the second round. This fight earned him a $425,000 Performance of the Night award.

After Tom Aspinall vacated his title due to lingering medical complications, Gane was promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion, and is scheduled to make his first defence on November 14, 2026 at UFC 334 against Josh Hokit.

Fighting style Gane is an orthodox heavyweight striker with a background in Muay Thai. At 6 ft 4 in with an 81 in reach, he uses unusually light footwork for the division, fighting mostly at long range behind jabs, feints, front kicks and round kicks to the leg, body and head.

His striking is generally based more on movement, volume and setups than on one-punch exchanges. He often uses small feints, stance adjustments and hand movement to draw reactions before attacking with his jab, low kicks, body kicks or lead-leg front kicks. Unlike many heavyweights, Gane rarely relies on extended boxing combinations in the pocket, instead preferring short entries, exits, angle changes and kicks to maintain distance.

In grappling exchanges, Gane has shown some offensive submission ability early in his MMA career, but his overall game is still primarily striking-oriented. His wrestling and defensive grappling have been viewed as the less developed parts of his style, especially when opponents are able to close distance, force clinches or hold top position.

Filmography Ciryl Gane stars as Bastien in the movie KO. He is also in the 2025 film, "Den of Thieves 2" starring O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Gerard Butler.". In 2025, Gane served as an MMA judge on a French reality TV show broadcast by Netflix in 2026, lArène.

Personal life Gane and his wife have two daughters. They live in Nogent-sur-Marne, in the eastern suburbs of Paris.

Championships and accomplishments Muay Thai Académie Française de Muay Thai AFMT National Title +91 kg (+201 lb) (One time) One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Heavyweight Champion (One time, current) First French fighter to become an undisputed UFC champion Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship (Two times) First French fighter to win an interim UFC title Second ever UFC fighter to win an Interim Championship twice Performance of the Night (Four times) Fight of the Night (One time) Tied (Andrei Arlovski & Cain Velasquez) for second longest win streak in UFC Heavyweight division history (7) Fifth most significant strikes landed in UFC Heavyweight division history (983) Second highest significant strike accuracy in UFC Heavyweight division history (61.7%) Fourth highest striking differential in UFC Heavyweight division history (3.09) Fourth highest significant strike defense in UFC Heavyweight division history (60.9%) UFC.com Awards 2019: Ranked #2 Newcomer of the Year 2021: Ranked #3 Fighter of the Year 2022: Ranked #7 Fight of the Year TKO Major League MMA TKO World Heavyweight Championship (One time) Two successful title defenses Sherdog 2021 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year MMA Sucka 2021 Breakout Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

|Win |align=center|13–2 |Alexander Volkov |Decision (split) |UFC 310 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

|Win |align=center|10–0 |Derrick Lewis |TKO (punches) |UFC 265 | |align=center|3 |align=center|4:11 |Houston, Texas, United States

|Win |align=center|7–0 |Junior dos Santos |TKO (elbow) |UFC 256 | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:34 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

|Win |align=center|4–0 ||Raphael Pessoa |Submission (arm-triangle choke) |UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 | |align=Center|1 |align=center|4:12 |Montevideo, Uruguay

|Win |align=center|3–0 |Roggers Souza |TKO (punches) |TKO 48 | |align=Center|1 |align*center|4:26 |Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

|Win |align=center|2–0 |Adam Dyczka |TKO (punches) |TKO 44 | |align=Center|2 |align*center|4:57 |Québec City, Quebec, Canada

Ciryl Gane

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