For once, French MMA fans didn't have to set their alarm clock to see him fight.

Ciryl Gane rewarded them with a spectacular knockout victory over Australian Tai Tuivasa at the first event hosted by the UFC in France on Saturday in Paris.

Two and a half years after the legalization of the discipline, and in a torrid Accor Arena which sang the Marseillaise and other supporters' songs, Gane N.1 in the heavyweight category, behind champion Francis Ngannou, struck down the N. 3 worldwide in the third round, during the first evening organized in France by the UFC, the most prestigious MMA league in the world.

“I have no words to describe what you make me live. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you …”, reacted Gane, alias “Good kid”.

Thanks to the French public 🇫🇷 #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/d6QhHGWydH

— UFC France (@UFCFRA) September 3, 2022

The one who is unquestionably the standard bearer of French MMA, with his eternal smile and his extraordinary physique, thus adds an eleventh victory to his record in mixed martial arts.

He inflicted on Tuivasa his fourth setback in sixteen appearances in the cage.

>> To read also: The French Ciryl Gane, a "good kid" headlining the 1st UFC event in Paris

The Australian, entered the octagon to the sound of the song "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

and under a few whistles, yet almost put him down in the second round.

But Gane, 32, recovered immediately to chain the blows.     

"Let's go for the belt"

Thanks to this victory, the one who only started in mixed martial arts in 2018 should again have a chance to fight for the world belt soon, after his failure against Ngannou last January.

"Let's go for the belt, I want it!", He launched.

From the beginning of the evening, the spectators were inflamed by hearing the announcer Bruce Buffer launching the hostilities with his traditional announcement "It's tiiiime!!!".

It was indeed time for the French fans of the discipline who had been waiting for this moment for more than twenty years.

“We are super excited to come and see this for the first time,” Florian, 34, who came to Bercy with two friends, told AFP.

"I paid 200 euros, it's not bad. But it's the first time, so I wanted to be good and to have a quality place, just to like it".

"We are in Paris, here!"

Like him, the 15,000 spectators at the Accor Arena were able to appreciate the sequences of kicks, punches, knees and elbows, as well as blows to the ground or strangulations, which discipline allows.   

Long considered too violent, the sport was mostly misunderstood by its fans.

"I found it a bit absurd", continues Florian, accustomed to going to bed late to follow the fights which are generally held in the United States.

"I was a little appalled to see that the trick was not understood, that it was seen as something too violent and that the technical aspect was a little neglected".

France and its market remained one of the last lands to conquer for the all-powerful UFC, the most prestigious MMA league in the world.

It is now done, thanks to the legalization of the discipline two and a half years ago.

Before Gane entered the scene shortly before midnight, the other French fighters had heated Bercy.

Benoit Saint-Denis, Farès Ziam, William Gomis and Nassourdine Imavov all won in style.

"I'd rather die than stop. We're in Paris here!" Launched Gomis, making the spectators roar.

For this great first, around 200,000 people had tried to find places, the sales platform having been stormed last June.

Those who have not succeeded should be able to catch up very quickly since the UFC has planned to return to France, Paris or elsewhere, once a year now.

With AFP

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