UFC Paris goes down this weekend at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. In the main event, hometown hero Ciryl Gane takes on Tai Tuivasa in a crucial heavyweight matchup.
Gane is coming off a unanimous decision loss in his heavyweight title fight against Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. Whereas Tuivasa is currently on an impressive five fight winning streak, with his most recent victory coming against Derrick Lewis by first round knockout at UFC 271.
UFC Paris: Gane vs Tuivasa Analysis And Prediction
Gane is a tough puzzle to solve for anyone at heavyweight, especially on the feet. Even Ngannou found it hard to stand and trade with the Frenchman, which is why he relied on his wrestling to churn out a decision win. ‘Bon Gamin’ is one of the best strikers in the division and has barely been touched by the likes of Lewis and Ngannou, as his movement, speed, and slick defence are too much for his opponents. Tuivasa is a brawler, who sets up his deadly boxing combinations with the use of low kicks. He is a lot slower than Gane, who is a bad matchup for him on paper, but the Aussie only needs one clean shot to shut his opponent’s lights out.
Statistically, Gane has the edge as he lands close to five significant strikes per minute on average, whereas Tuivasa lands close to four-and-a-half. Gane has an outstanding defence however as he absorbs only a little over two significant strikes per minute on average, whereas Tuivasa absorbs almost twice as many. Gane has decent grappling as well. He does attempt a few takedowns here and there, and has submission wins to his name. Tuivasa doesn’t like grappling much and will prefer to keep the fight standing.
Tuivasa has been on a roll lately with five straight knockout wins but Gane is the better fighter and will outstrike ‘Bam Bam’ to either win by a late knockout or decision.
Prediction: Ciryl Gane by decision
Betting Odds:
Ciryl Gane (-540)
Tai Tuivasa (+420)
Who do you think will win the heavyweight main event between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris?
