Michael Bisping thinks Tai Tuivasa needs to make things ugly with Ciryl Gane but isn’t sure if he’ll be able to.
Tuivasa (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) faces Gane (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 209 main event at Accor Arena in Paris.
No one has answered Gane’s striking in the UFC as the former interim heavyweight champion barely has absorbed a clean shot in eight octagon bouts. But Tuivasa has knocked out his past five opponents, and Bisping says “Bam Bam” needs to bring the fight to Gane if he wants to find success.
“He’s (Gane) so light on his feet, he’s so athletic, he’s like poetry in motion,” Bisping said on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “He’s so composed and skillful on his feet. The way he moves in and out, it causes everyone a lot of problems. That’s why Francis (Ngannou) turned into a wrestler, and I don’t think anyone saw that coming.
“I think for Tai, if he’s gonna get a victory, he needs to turn it into a brawl. He needs to try and back him up against the fence, but he’s gonna struggle to do that, because Ciryl is really composed. He does have a great jab. He does have long front kicks, and he’s gonna try and keep him at bay.”
Bisping thinks UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou might’ve exposed a chink in Gane’s armor when he used his wrestling to defeat him in their title unification bout this past January. He sees Tuivasa trying to implement a similar strategy, even if it isn’t his forte.
“If Francis Ngannou can take him down and hold him down and essentially win like that, that sends a message to the rest of the heavyweight division,” Bisping said. “If you’re fighting this guy, you want to wrestle him. The problem is, Tai Tuivasa isn’t really a wrestler. …
“He’s not the best grappler, though, to be fair. Serghei Spivac highlighted that, but we’re all a work in progress. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Tai Tuivasa’s gonna be looking for some takedowns.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.
