Tuivasa Vs Gane: No Surrender
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God it’s felt like a year since I last posted something. However, with the constant influx of good fights lately, and especially good finishes, I felt like I would be providing a disservice if I didn’t help discuss such an important fight for the heavyweight division.
On paper, it seems very simplistic. On one side, you have an heavy-handed brawler who has no problem hunting down his opponent to score the knockout. On the other side, we have a nimble technical striker with a fixation on frustrating an opponent with the use of footwork and hand speed.
However, as we dive deeper into these two contenders, we can better examine not only their skills, but other defining attributes that help us paint a better picture of what is in store this Saturday.
Despite his looks, Tuivasa is still quite young for the sport. At only 29 years old, Tai has amassed a decent record at 14-3. Most fans had given up at the young brawler after his three fight losing streak. However, through sheer will and determination, Tuivasa has bounced back from adversity to accrue a five fight winning streak, and all by knockout.
While each knockout has been impressive, his most defining finish would probably be his knockout of the KO king Derrick Lewis.
In an entertaining war for all fans to enjoy, Tuivasa managed to absorb Lewis’s most powerful blows and landed a perfect elbow to knock out the Texan resident.
The biggest problem with Tuivasa, however, is also his greatest strength. While he an amazing brawler, there are plenty of examples of moments where he throws out technical aspects of the sport in order to land heavy shots. While this is alright when going against someone like Stefan Struve, or Augusto Sakai, fighting someone like Gane who tends to use footwork alongside his reach might force Tuivasa into uncompromising positions as he searches for the finish. On top of this, there is a chance that, should he not get the finish early, he might deplete his cardio and end up gassing and getting finished late in the fight.
Also, while his chin is not bad by any means, he is still very much hittable.
As shown in the video below, Tuivasa is still capable of being dropped, and the biggest issue arises when he does: has he improved enough on the ground to get back up?
While Gane might not be the most proficient grappler, should Tuivasa get hurt, Gane is still capable enough of getting to mount and dropping bombs from above.
In a pure striking match, Tuivasa has some attributes to better his chances against his opponent. However, the odds are very much stacked against him.
Now enter Gane.
Gane took most MMA by surprise, for the most part. Hailing from France, Ciryl has made a name for himself amongst fans and haters alike for his elusive style of fighting not often seen at Heavyweight.
Two of his biggest strengths are his footwork and his striking speed— not just the hands this time.
Whereas most Heavyweight fighters prefer a more stationary or planted approach, Ciryl prefers to move around the right often, finding different angles and positions to strike with. This works well with his 81 inch reach, which he uses to pepper out jabs and land leg kicks from the outside.
However, that does not mean he is not capable of stepping into range to land big shots. As shown with his fight against Volkov, he is more than capable of moving forward and landing heavy shots.
However, this is not his style.
He takes a calculated approach to picking apart opponents like this.
Getting too comfortable? Let’s see how you do with feints and a few stance switches.
Need a breather? No problem, he’ll pressure you or batter you a bit in the clinch.
On top of this, he manages to keep not only a good pace, but also selects his shots well.
If there was a glaring weakness I could think of, it would possibly be his bottom game— though that wouldn’t be fair to assume.
Yes, there were moments when the current champion had outwrestled him in their fight, and he had made the mistake of a leg submission against said opponent, but I think many people forget just how much of a specimen Ngannou is. He is a true force of nature, and if he wants you on the ground, unless you’re D1 and a good-sized Heavyweight, you’re going to the ground.
Gane also showed showed a solid performance in the earlier rounds.
So who is the likely winner?
While Tuivasa has a good chin, and powerful hands, Gane has shown that he is already capable of dealing with brawlers like him. His speed, his range, and his footwork are all enough to give Tuivasa trouble.
In the clinch, it might slightly be more competitive because Tai is decent there. However, a reach and height difference might again prove trouble for the Australian fighter.
And though it might be a Hail Mary strategy that he might contemplate, I do not see Tuivasa shooting takedowns or getting top control on Ciryl.
It’s hard to see Tuivasa going away early, so if there is a finish from Gane, it will likely be late into the fight; or not at all.
SAFE PICK: CIRYL GANE
