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There’s no ‘Bon Gamin’ this weekend …
After a rare weekend off, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Paris, France, this weekend (Sat., Sept. 28, 2024). And for the first time since the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world started going to the “City of Love,” Ciryl Gane will not be headlining the ESPN+streamed card. Instead, Benoit-Saint Denis main events his first event against foul-mouthed Brazilian, Renato Moicano (checkout the rest of the card here).
For months, fight fans wondered the reason(s) UFC’s former interim Heavyweight champion was absent from the card and was instead booked for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi (now it’s UFC 310).
Now, there’s an answer: a better opportunity.
“Uh, yeah, we don’t have to talk about it with the UFC coming to Paris,” Gane’s coach, Fernand Lopez, told Inside Fighting. “It’s obvious that they want Ciryl to fight in Paris and I was thinking about Ciryl fighting in Paris — this is what we talked [about]. But, an opportunity showed up with a better opponent in terms of ranking, a better opportunity in terms of pay-per-view and better career constructions to go back to the belt.
“It makes sense for us to accept that opportunity,” Lopez continued. “Ciryl already fought two times in Paris, finished his opponent two times in Paris and enjoyed the moment to win in Paris. I think for him it is a new challenge to go to Abu Dhabi, a new different market. And for him to be qualified if they need him for the [belt].”
Unfortunately for Gane, those plans were dashed — albeit briefly — after his opponent, Alexander Volkov, pulled out of the fight with an injury. The top-ranked Heavyweight contenders will now collide on Dec. 7, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gane has not competed since destroying Serghei Spivac in the main event of UFC Paris in Sept. 2023 (watch highlights).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Paris: “Moicano vs. BSD” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
