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The caption says it all.
... there has been quite a bit of discussion about the match up between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov as of recently - after all, both fighters have arguably looked their best ever in their last (few) fights.
I could however not disagree more with the people who see Volkov beating Gane...
I'm absolutely certain that Ciryl Gane will beat Volkov and not only that, but i see him doing it in a very decisive manner, possibly even finishing the gigantic version of "Drago" most label "Uber Volkov" now, but let me explain why and allow me to write down my persuasion abot Gane in this fight in an attempt to maybe make some of you realize, how good the guy actually is and that it is not without reason that i'm speaking so highly of him, so let's get started.
I think that with the exception of power, Gane is the significantly superior striker to Alexander Volkov in every - and i really mean - EVERY regard.
Technique, speed, fight-IQ - you name it.
Gane's footwork is something to behold, as he does not only move very fluidly and quick no matter the direction, but he does so from both stances, effortlessly and intelligently switching stance amidst combinations, making use of a variety of attacks, showing an unmistakable knack for shot-selection and with the exception of what most would deem unnecessarily flashy stuff, firing whatever combination you can imagine with the so-called "eight limbs" in a technically beautiful manner sooner or later and as indicated earlier, this does include combinations where "Bon Gamin" switches stances mid-combination.
What plays an important role in the aforementioned stuff but relates just as much to the not yet talked about defensive ability, is Gane's exceptional sense of distance - his ability to both move just out of the way of strikes and move into range just enough to punish on his opponents without leaving himself in a vulnerable position is clear to anyone who has at least paid some attention to some of his fights, or to be more exact: to the striking exchanges taking parts in these.
It would be wrong however, to just paint Gane as a striker that solely relies on movement, especially pertaining the defensive part of striking, since he also has a great understanding and application of how to block strikes, which is a very valuable trait, in particular in combination with his fantastic footwork and overall agility.
Many people have complained about Gane's "boring" performance against Rozenstruik, but in reality he's done a phenomenal job - he outstruck a credentialed kickboxer (record: 76-8-1) with dangerously fast hands and a great eye for a counter 102-42, which equates to Gane having landed 242% of the strikes that Rozenstruik landed on him.
Having talked about the in basically every regard fantastic stand up abilities of Gane, it'd be foolish to leave out his grappling, which - to me - seems astonishingly technical and intelligent, especially considering how little pro fight experience Gane has and how late he started with mixed martial arts and keep in mind: we're talking about a striker too, which makes his submission wins by heel-hook and arm-triangle-choke super impressive in my opinion.
If i had to sum up Ciryl Gane in one sentence, it'd probably look something like this:
"Bon Gamin" is an exceptionally talented striker whose technical prowess on the feet might very well be as good as that of any heavyweight in MMA-history and whose grappling-abilities seem to be way ahead of what one would even a talented fighters one's expect to be at this point.
Last but not least, some stats are fairly telling about Gane's abilities i've talked about:
... there has been quite a bit of discussion about the match up between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov as of recently - after all, both fighters have arguably looked their best ever in their last (few) fights.
I could however not disagree more with the people who see Volkov beating Gane...
I think that with the exception of power, Gane is the significantly superior striker to Alexander Volkov in every - and i really mean - EVERY regard.
Technique, speed, fight-IQ - you name it.
Gane's footwork is something to behold, as he does not only move very fluidly and quick no matter the direction, but he does so from both stances, effortlessly and intelligently switching stance amidst combinations, making use of a variety of attacks, showing an unmistakable knack for shot-selection and with the exception of what most would deem unnecessarily flashy stuff, firing whatever combination you can imagine with the so-called "eight limbs" in a technically beautiful manner sooner or later and as indicated earlier, this does include combinations where "Bon Gamin" switches stances mid-combination.
What plays an important role in the aforementioned stuff but relates just as much to the not yet talked about defensive ability, is Gane's exceptional sense of distance - his ability to both move just out of the way of strikes and move into range just enough to punish on his opponents without leaving himself in a vulnerable position is clear to anyone who has at least paid some attention to some of his fights, or to be more exact: to the striking exchanges taking parts in these.
It would be wrong however, to just paint Gane as a striker that solely relies on movement, especially pertaining the defensive part of striking, since he also has a great understanding and application of how to block strikes, which is a very valuable trait, in particular in combination with his fantastic footwork and overall agility.
Many people have complained about Gane's "boring" performance against Rozenstruik, but in reality he's done a phenomenal job - he outstruck a credentialed kickboxer (record: 76-8-1) with dangerously fast hands and a great eye for a counter 102-42, which equates to Gane having landed 242% of the strikes that Rozenstruik landed on him.
Having talked about the in basically every regard fantastic stand up abilities of Gane, it'd be foolish to leave out his grappling, which - to me - seems astonishingly technical and intelligent, especially considering how little pro fight experience Gane has and how late he started with mixed martial arts and keep in mind: we're talking about a striker too, which makes his submission wins by heel-hook and arm-triangle-choke super impressive in my opinion.
If i had to sum up Ciryl Gane in one sentence, it'd probably look something like this:
"Bon Gamin" is an exceptionally talented striker whose technical prowess on the feet might very well be as good as that of any heavyweight in MMA-history and whose grappling-abilities seem to be way ahead of what one would even a talented fighters one's expect to be at this point.
Last but not least, some stats are fairly telling about Gane's abilities i've talked about:
- 69% sign. striking defense - 2nd best in UFC heavyweight history
- 5.04 sign. strikes landed/min. - 6th highest in UFC heavyweight history
- 1.85 sign. strikes absorbed/min. - 9th least in UFC heavyweight history
- 3.19 sign. strike differential - 3rd best in UFC heavyweight history
Conclusion
I think that Gane's overall abilities, but in particular his speed, defensive ability, grappling and fight-IQ will be too much for the technically well-versed and hard-hitting, but considerably slower Alexander Volkov to handle in this clash between two massive heavyweights.
I think that Gane's overall abilities, but in particular his speed, defensive ability, grappling and fight-IQ will be too much for the technically well-versed and hard-hitting, but considerably slower Alexander Volkov to handle in this clash between two massive heavyweights.
Should Gane not win against Alexander Volkov, i'll rock this AV for the next twelve months:
