"He's not more of a threat than Francis Ngannou" - Josh Thomson dismisses idea of Ciryl Gane grappling against Tai Tuivasa to eliminate KO power 

UFC Paris is approaching, headlined by heavyweight contenders Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa. On an episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast, Josh Thomson and 'Big' John McCarthy analyzed the bout. 'Big' John offered that a wise gameplan might be for Gane to wrestle Tuivasa to negate his knockout power. However, Thomson contested this by comparing Tuivasa to Ngannou. Thomson claimed that if he didn't wrestle Ngannou, then it wouldn't make sense for him to wrestle Tuivasa, as Ngannou was more of a knockout threat. Thomson sees Gane utilizing his movement again much like he did versus Ngannou, stating:

"He's not more of a threat than Francis Ngannou, and Ciryl Gane wasn't really attempting takedowns on Ngannou. Threw one or two out there but the rest of the time was stick and move stick and move really trying to utilize that position on the speed. His athleticism and his footwork, is something you very rarely see in a heavyweight."

In his title shot against Ngannou, Ciryl Gane was the one keeping the fight on the feet while Ngannou was trying to wrestle. Gane's movement and technical striking alone might be enough to negate Tuivasa's power without having to utilize grappling, similar to his bout with Derrick Lewis. What gameplan Gane ultimately goes with will be seen Saturday when the UFC goes to Paris.

You can watch the full episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast below:

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Michael Bisping: 'Tai needs to turn it into a brawl if he's going to get a victory' over Ciryl Gane

Michael Bisping also weighed in on the upcoming heavyweight main event on his Believe You Me podcast. Bisping also praised Gane's movement and technique, and suggested that Tuivasa's road to victory would be to make the fight ugly. 'The Count' proposed he turn it into a brawl, stating:

"If he's (Tuivasa) gonna get a victory, he needs to turn it into a brawl. He needs to try and back him up against the fence. You know? But he's going to struggle to do that, because Cyril is really composed. He does have a great jab, he does have a long front kicks and he's gonna try to keep him at bay."

The narrative here seems to be that if Ciryl Gane can keep the fight at his range then chances are he will emerge victorious. However, Tuivasa has shown he has one-punch knockout power, and if he is able to close the distance as Bisping says, an upset is very possible.

You can watch the full episode of the Believe You Me podcast below:

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