“You put two guys in a room and Jon Jones walks out every time,” UFC’s Head Honcho Dana White once said. It would be foolish to disagree. To enforce to rather emphatic soundbite, it’s safe to say that Jon Jones is probably the most dangerous human being to have ever walked the earth. So, when taking that into consideration, one really shouldn’t knock Ciryl Gane for losing to Jones in nearly less than two minutes.
Gane was Jones’ first test in returning to the octagon after a three year hiatus and moving up to heavyweight and it was practically over before it even started. That must’ve sucked, but at least you can keep your head high knowing that you lost to the Mozart of MMA. And for a guy who moves like a lightweight and whose unusually ripped physique couldn’t be further divorced from his fellow heavyweights, all of whom look as if they’ve never said no to dessert in their life, Ciryl Gane is a nuclear athlete.
At 6’5 and 246 pounds, the Frenchman dances around like he’s Muhammad Ali while effortlessly throwing flying knees and head kicks against flat footed opponents who rely on three things: an absorbent chin, a big belly, and overhand rights. And on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, he faces the only other challenger whose agile physicality can mirror his own: Tom Aspinall.
Aspinall was continually, and unsuccessfully, lobbying for a title fight against Jones, but after months of seesawing between yes, no, and maybe, Jones abruptly retired from the sport, making Aspinall the UFC heavyweight champion by default. Meanwhile, Gane was busy torching Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov in back to back victories, proving that with Jones out of the picture, this Parisian powerhouse is a serious problem.
Ciryl Gane calls me via Zoom from the TRIPL3 MMA gym in Dubai—two sweaty, fist-imprinted punching bags dangling behind him—where he’s been for the last few weeks in preparation, this relocation being a first as he usually trains in his native Paris right up until he gets on the plane.
On camera, he smiles boyishly, like an excited kid about to present in front of the classroom for the first time. Only when he leans back, revealing his full torso, do you realize just how colossal—and intimidating—the man sitting on the other end of the wifi connection is.
According to former UFC Middleweight champ and Hall-of-famer, Michael Bisping, Gane has the advantage in the striking department, with Aspinall reigning supreme in the ground and takedown department. But what does Gane think of this?
“I’m comfortable everywhere,” Gane says calmly.
Esquire: So, why the sudden decision to train in Dubai?
Ciryl Gane: Instead of flying all the training partners out to Paris, I just thought I’d come out here.
Esquire: Having already fought Jon Jones, where does Tom Aspinall rank in terms of toughest opponents? Many think he is the reason Jon Jones retired, out of fear of fighting him.
Ciryl Gane: It’s really hard to have a good answer. Jones is perhaps more well rounded, but Aspinall is young and very dangerous, and I’m not overlooking him at all. I really don’t know, so all I can say is: we’ll see.
Back in 2022, Gane had, what is often referred to as, a ‘war’ with one of the hardest hitters in the division, Tai Tuivasa, an Australian juggernaut known for his heavy hands and post fight celebration of drinking beer out of a shoe (without failure, a random fan will literally throw a shoe and a beer into the cage, and Tuivasa will then drink the beer out of that shoe: ubiquitously referred to in frat houses as a ‘shoey’). In the fight, Gane was dropped several times and survived, only to eventually land a head-kick that ended that fight. Most fighters are grateful for such wars, as it teaches them a lot about themselves, and according to Gane, his post fight response is no different.
Ciryl Gane: Before that night, people would always complain that they had never seen Ciryl in a dogfight. People said my fights were ‘easy’, because nobody could touch me. So that was the first time were somebody really hitme, and hit me good. I know that I’m a dog and I can handle this, but I think it was good for the fans to see me in a real war.
Esquire: You landed some extremely heavy shots on him, shots that would’ve easily taken out the average person, and yet, he kept coming. Did his durability surprise you? And what goes through your head when you’re hitting somebody with everything you’ve got, and they just keep coming?
Ciryl Gane: He’s a really really really tough guy. Sometimes you hit a guy with a light jab and he just drops. But Tai just kept coming. He is built of cement. But what’s funny is that everybody thinks that was my hardest fight, and it was in some ways, but it also looks very tough because we’re hitting each other so much. In my last fight, against Alexander Volkov, I almost broke everything: my toes, my fingers, part of my hand, and even part of my lung had compressed, which is extremely dangerous. But nobody sees or knows this except me. So even though that fight didn’t look as hard, it was much more dangerous.
Esquire: With Alex Ferreira regaining the Light Heavyweight championship just last weekend, many are speculating he’ll get the winner of you and Aspinall. What are your thoughts on that potential fight?
Ciryl Gane: That’s a great question. Perreira is a huge fight, and he will sell a lot of tickets (laughs). But right now, I’m only focusing on Aspinall.
Esquire: In a perfect world, would you like to rematch Jon Jones? And what would you have done differently in that fight?
Ciryl Gane: I’m not one of those guys who ever wants revenge. But one thing, when looking back, is that I would not have thrown my right hand, because that’s when he took me down and finished the fight.
After we end the official interview, Gane and I start talking about French movies, where he subtly asks, “Have you heard of K.O. on Netflix?”
As I quickly look it up, something about the guy’s face on the poster looks familiar.
“Wait,” I ask. “Is this you?”
He chuckles bashfully.
“It was my first ever acting experience,” he says. “Like a first real war in a fight. Obviously nothing is scarier than fighting, but this came close.”
