Portrait
MMA: Ciryl Gane, the metamorphosis
Ciryl Gane in January 2022. AFP - FREDERIC J. BROWN
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
4 mins
In just four years, the French Ciryl Gane has become the star of MMA in France.
On Saturday, September 3, he will headline the first UFC night in Paris, an event long awaited by fans of this combat sport.
Meet.
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In the training room, tall kids spend their August learning combat sports.
One of them approaches to greet his idol.
Ciryl Gane, beaming face extends her hand.
Four years after his debut in MMA, he is now a star in the
discipline
.
Soft like a lamb
“
He is very approachable.
We must thank his parents who gave him a good education.
A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter.
There is a lot of love around him.
It is important in the competition.
In four years, there has been no disagreement between us.
He is as gentle as a lamb
, ”says his trainer Fernand Lopez, the most famous in France and boss of the MMA Factory.
“
Very early on, I sensed that he had a knack for kicking and dodging them.
I deduced that he had potential for MMA.
He has something more than the others on the intellectual level.
He is able to process mathematical information very quickly.
It can respond to the successions of problems that must be dealt with during a fight.
That's why it went very quickly for him
, ”says Fernand Lopez.
“
Like all geniuses, he's lazy, you have to push him.
I don't want him to be able to tie his shoelaces at the end of practice!
“, nuance all the same the coach about the one who is nicknamed
“Good kid”
.
“
Today, I ask myself the question of what I really want to do.
I let myself be carried away.
Now I have to find sources of motivation.
And the goal is this world heavyweight belt in the UFC which is my quest.
And not necessarily against
Francis Ngannou
”, advances Ciryl Gane.
“
I have always taken challenges head-on
”
Last February, as the fight progressed, Francis Ngannou, known as
"the Predator"
, managed to reverse the trend by bringing his opponent to the ground, and he ended up winning the decision, something that had only very rarely happened to him. in his career.
Ciryl Gane is not disappointed.
He never dreamed of being world champion.
But he still wants to be "
the guy who wins everything up there
", he who has always believed in himself.
"
I've always taken challenges head on and that's why I got into MMA very late
," says the former French muay-thai practitioner who admits to now living very well from his job. .
Here he is even having to take selfies and sign autographs.
“
People are very kind to me.
I hope that won't change.
It requires a little organization to go unnoticed and avoid a crowd.
But it's rewarding to be recognized.
Sometimes it surprises me.
I say to myself
:
“I have achieved something in my sport”
, confides Ciryl Gane with her eternal smile, far from exuberance.
A star of French sport
More than an MMA star, Ciryl Gane has become a star of French sport.
On
, he has as many followers as cyclist
Julian Alaphilippe
, and twice as many as Olympic boxing champion Tony Yoka.
In October 2021, Ciryl Gane and multiple world judo champion Teddy Riner were invited to participate in the Match des Héros at the Vélodrome in Marseille.
Ciryl Gane and Teddy Riner both played defense for the Unicef team and had to face superstar Didier Drogba.
A real change of status that goes beyond the framework of MMA in France.
The UFC is an incomparable social elevator.
Many fighters have come out of poverty.
“
It affects people.
Those who have lived in misery say to themselves:
"why not me?"
It's impressive the progression of MMA in the world.
It's
unheard of ”, is satisfied Ciryl Gane.
The 32-year-old colossus from Vendée, who could have made a career in football or basketball, quickly became the headliner of the discipline in France.
French MMA needed a standard bearer, it found it.
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