Outside Source
Despite sitting in the second-to-last slot on the UFC White House event on Sunday, the duel between Brazilian Alex Pereira and Frenchman Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title has generated as much if not more debate than the main event. between American Justin Gaethje and Spaniard Ilia Topuria. One of the reasons for this is Ilia Topuria’s status as a massive betting favorite over Justin Gaethje while ‘Poatan’ and Gane currently see odds that are dead even.
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In the opinion of former UFC heavyweight champions, Fabricio Werdum and Junior dos Santos, the confrontation could become a closely contested affair between two great strikers, but the Brazilian’s game plan will make the difference. With the experience of having faced Gane in his last UFC fight, at UFC 256 in 2020 when he was stopped with elbow strikes, dos Santos believes that Pereira’s aggressiveness and KO power will be a key point.
“I think [Pereira’s] style will complicate [Gane],” “Cigano” mentioned. “Alex goes on the offensive mode all the time and always cutting angles, circling and gradually breaking down his opponents. Gane moves well backwards, but once ‘Poatan’ cuts angles very well, they must collide, and when it happens, ‘Poatan’ has the advantage of having one-punch knockout power. There couldn’t have been a better debut fight in heavyweight for ‘Poatan.’ I believe he will win and make history by being the first athlete to be champion in three different divisions.”
“Gane has a small heart”
Werdum generally agrees with JDS that Pereira will get the win in Sunday, but sees a different path for “Poatan” to prevail. In Werdum’s opinion, Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones exposed the Frenchman’s weak point.
“They are both great strikers, if ‘Poatan’ decides to exchange punches it can be a chess match with Ciryl having more chances to surprise,” Werdum analyzed. “I saw ‘Poatan’ training on the ground with Glover [Teixeira] and he clearly evolved his ground skills, so in my opinion he should expose Ciryl like Ngannou and Jones did. If ‘Poatan’ believes in his jiu-jitsu skills, he will be able to submit Gane. Besides not having a good ground game, Gane has a small heart, I realized that in his fight with Jon Jones. He accepted the defeat, stood still and didn’t even attempt a defense when the guillotine choke wasn’t even locked in. ‘Poatan’ can win standing up, but if he takes Gane to the ground, he will make it easier.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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