A scathing assessment of Ciryl Gane‘s ground game has emerged ahead of what was supposed to be his defining moment at UFC 321. Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has cast serious doubts on the French contender’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, claiming they’re inadequate for championship-level competition.
The Brazilian legend didn’t mince words when analyzing Gane’s grappling credentials, delivering a candid evaluation that has sent waves through the heavyweight division.
“Honestly, between us, on the ground Gane is at blue belt level. And in terms of pure BJJ standards, I’d call him a very early, beginner blue belt,” Werdum stated earlier this week. “Like someone who just got the belt. He can’t set up a proper guard, he doesn’t know how to do a hip escape, he doesn’t know how to do technical stand-ups.”
The critique becomes even more pointed as Werdum references Gane’s previous championship opportunity against Jon Jones, where the Frenchman succumbed to a guillotine choke.
“When he got caught in the guillotine by Jones, he didn’t even know what to do. He just accepted the submission, that’s it. He panicked. “
the veteran BJJ specialist explained.
Werdum went further, predicting exactly how he believes Tom Aspinall would exploit these weaknesses during their scheduled UFC 321 bout in Abu Dhabi.
“I think Aspinall submits him in the 1st or 2nd round, and most likely with a RNC, because that’s the most likely submission against someone with no good guard. Once he gets hit, he turns away, gives up his neck — and that’s it.”
The matchup represented Gane’s third attempt at capturing UFC gold following previous unsuccessful bids against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. Coming off a controversial split-decision victory over Alexander Volkov, the Frenchman faced perhaps his most challenging test yet in Aspinall, whose combination of youth, athleticism, knockout power, and grappling prowess made him a dangerous puzzle to solve.
Unfortunately, fans never got to see whether Werdum’s predictions would prove accurate. The highly anticipated title clash ended in frustrating fashion when an accidental eye poke left Aspinall unable to continue in the opening round.
The incident occurred with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first frame after Gane had appeared to be controlling the action with his jab and defended an early takedown attempt. Replay footage revealed that Aspinall had actually suffered simultaneous pokes to both eyes.
“I just got poked knuckle deep in the f***in eyeball. Why are you booing?”
an irate Aspinall told the disappointed Abu Dhabi crowd after the bout was ruled a no contest.
“This is b***s***. The match was just getting going. Complete b***s***. I’m p***ed off.”
The anticlimactic ending leaves the heavyweight division in limbo and Werdum’s harsh assessment of Gane’s ground game untested. Whether the Frenchman’s grappling deficiencies would have materialized as predicted remains an open question, though the former champion’s analysis has certainly added another layer of intrigue to what promises to be an inevitable rematch.
With Aspinall retaining his heavyweight title due to the no contest ruling, both men will undoubtedly seek to run this back as soon as possible to provide the definitive answer the sport craves.
