Ciryl Gane broke his hand at UFC Paris, wishes Jon Jones bout could’ve been pushed back a month

Ciryl Gane has the biggest test of his career at UFC 284. Gane will face the former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title.

The title belonged to Francis Ngannou, until the negotiations went sour and he became a free agent. Gane faced Ngannou back in January of 2021 and got outgrappled to a decision victory despite being a seasoned striker.

But his stock didn’t drop among UFC fans, in part thanks to a great performance against fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris. What many might not remember is that Gane had broken his hand during the event and subsequently required surgery.

Gane confirmed in an interview last week he had surgery and that he’s “okay now”.

Many UFC fans were in disbelief when Gane revealed that he doesn’t train outside of a camp for a specific bout.

The former interim heavyweight champion said that he’s “lazy” and that he only hits the gym when an official bout is announced.

“I did already some exercises on the bag, heavy bag, big bench, no I’m okay with my hand, it’s fixed,” he added, making it clear that he’s putting his hand to work.

Gane wished UFC had waited another month to book the bout but that it wasn’t possible as per UFC COO.

“We talked with Hunter [Campbell] and during the discussion, we knew already with Fernand Lopez — it’s going to be not possible to change the date”

“For me to have little, maybe one more month probably… this would be a good idea”

Still, the odd makers favor Jones to win the bout (-156) while Gane is the underdog (+131).

There was some interesting move on the betting lines, Gane was considered the favorite initially – but has tanked his odds with the lazy comments.

 

Joe Rogan questioned the role ring rust may play in the outing and questioned if Gane is a tougher match up than Ngannou:

“It’s also his first in heavyweight. We really don’t know how he’s going to respond when he gets hit by a big heavyweight. And it’s years and it’s also Jon is older now.” Rogan said.