Ciryl Gane capped off a historic night for French mixed martial arts by sending his fellow Parisians into raptures on Saturday, knocking out Tai Tuivasa in the main event of the UFC’s first ever trip to the City of Light.
Gane showed off his technical abilities – almost unrivalled in the heavyweight division – in the first round, but had to survive a heavy knockdown from Tuivasa in an enthralling second frame to earn a crucial win. It was in the third round that Gane broke down the Australian with body kicks that set up kicks and punches to the head of Tuivasa, a flurry of which put away the tourist to spark ecstasy in the Accor Arena. The result saw 32-year-old Gane, who has only been competing in MMA for four years, bounce back from the sole defeat of his professional career so far – a decision loss to former teammate Francis Ngannou in January.
In the co-main event, Robert Whittaker similarly bounced back from a title-fight defeat, outpointing Marvin Vettori with a clinical performance in the pair’s middleweight showdown.
Re-live updates and results as the UFC visited France for the very first time ever.
