‘I don’t recognize myself’… Ciryl Gane reveals loss to Jon Jones has given him ‘the spirit of revenge’ ahead of UFC 310

After a year on the Parisian sidelines, French heavyweight Ciryl Gane is finally set to return to action next weekend when he takes on Russian juggernaut Alexander Volkov in the featured fight of UFC 310.

‘Bon Gamin’ might have rebounded from his infamous first-round defeat to Jon Jones with a brutal TKO win in his last bout, but make no mistake about it, that title showdown with ‘Bones’ still haunts the popular French finisher.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLCCiryl Gane reflects on his UFC heavyweight title loss to Jon JonesUFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane has run through everybody not named either Jon Jones or Francis Ngannou, which is certainly nothing to be ashamed about, although the Frenchman has been remarkably honest about his lackluster performance against ‘Bones’.

“When I look back at it, it was obvious that I was not there,” Gane stated on the UFC 310 Countdown show, explaining how after months of intense preparation, it just failed to click under the bright lights of Las Vegas.

“It represented exactly how I felt on the day of the fight. It was a total misunderstanding of what was happening… I don’t recognize myself there. It’s something I’ve never done in my life.

“I’ve never fought that way before. My distance management, my movement, the alertness that I love to show – I had none of that.”

Whilst Gane views that title loss as a stain on his otherwise incredible resume, ‘Bon Gamin’ is using that feeling of exposure as motivation for UFC 310.

“Looking back, I think that this experience may have been beneficial… For me personally, it helped me to refocus on myself. It gave me a spirit of revenge, a competitive spirit.”

UFC 310: Tom Aspinall shares his thoughts on ’50/50′ fight between former opponent and top contenderCiryl Gane previews his heavyweight rematch with Volkov at UFC 310Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov first fought back in 2021, with the Frenchman earning a solid unanimous decision victory over the towering Russian.

With their rematch looming equally large over the horizon, Gane teased that “there are no surprises” when it comes to Volkov: “So I train with guys who are much taller than me.”

In preparation for the 6’7” Russian, Gane has been fine-tuning his skills at the MMA Factory in Paris where he has teamed up with 6’5” kickboxer Paulin Begai, and 6’8” boxer Maxime Vaz – under the tutelage of head coach Fernand Lopez.

“Ultimately, our will is to end the fight way before the [final] timer,” teased coach Lopez, claiming that Gane has begun to ‘perfect’ the arts of offensive boxing and wrestling.

“The way we work on boxing is that we look for power, but with finishing moves. We work on floor fighting with an offensive approach, not defensive – it’s exciting for me to know that he has perfected all these possibilities.”

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Whilst Volkov has shown some impressive form of late, Gane believes that he’ll be just too slick for ‘Drago’ on December 7: “I’ll show him movement, I’ll show him technique, I’ll give him more than he’ll give me.

“That is the way it is, I hope that we’ll put on a show.”

UFC 310 goes down live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, December 7.

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