5 Things You Might Not Know About Ciryl Gane

Few can match Ciryl Gane’s high-level consistency in the always tumultuous Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.

The 34-year-old Frenchman will look to keep his place in line when he rematches former Bellator MMA champion Alexander Volkov—a man he defeated by unanimous decision three years ago—in a featured UFC 310 attraction this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gane has won two of his past three bouts. He last saw action at UFC Fight Night 226, where he swept aside Serghei Spivac with punches in the second round of their September 2023 encounter.

As Gane approaches his return from a yearlong layoff and sets his sights on Volkov for a second time, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Nothing about his unassuming roots suggested future stardom.

Gane was born on May 6, 1990 in La Roche-sur-Yon, France, a community of some 55,000 people situated roughly 260 miles to the southwest of Paris. Erected in 1854, a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte stands in the middle of the town square that was named for the notorious French emperor.

2. He took off from a short runway.

An accomplished kickboxer and muay thai practitioner, Gane hit the ground running in mixed martial arts. He captured the TKO Major League MMA heavyweight championship in his pro debut, as he submitted Bobby Sullivan with a first-round guillotine choke at TKO Fight Night 1 on Aug. 2, 2018. Gane retained the title on two subsequent occasions, then vacated the throne to sign with the UFC.

3. Loyalty and stability have been strengths.

Gane operates out of the MMA Factory in Paris, where he trains under longtime mentor Fernand Lopez. Nassourdine Imavov, Ion Cutelaba, William Gomis, Laureano Staropoli and Darya Zheleznyakova are among the others who have called the gym home, along with former UFC heavyweight champion and current Professional Fighters League Super Fights heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou.

4. He monetized his skills.

“Bon Gamin” owns a 9-2 record in the UFC, having lost only to Jon Jones and the aforementioned Ngannou. Gane has pocketed four post-fight bonuses—three for “Performance of the Night” and one for “Fight of the Night”—across his 11 appearances inside the Octagon, resulting in $200,000 of additional income.

5. Some might call him a world traveler.

Gane has competed in six different countries on four separate continents over the course of his 14-fight career in MMA. In addition to his native France, he has suited up in the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Uruguay and Canada.