Newly-crowned UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane is “very beatable.”
Then again, so is reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Maybe not for the rest of the heavyweight division, but when faced with the might of former 205-pound kingpin Jon Jones, both “Bon Gamin” and “The Predator” are … well, just a couple of nuts to crack.
That’s according to coach Mike Winkeljohn.
“The crazy power is always scary. It freezes up a lot of people, and that’s what Francis has. He’s a scary, explosive guy,” Winkeljohn told Submission Radio. “Gane can hit hard too, but again, he has more tools I believe as far as fine-tuned tools. So, they’re different nuts for Jon to crack, depending which one of those guys Jon has to fight. It’s different. They both are scary in their own way and both very beatable in their own way.”
Jones abandoned his post at 205 pounds last summer and has been trying to finagle a title fight against Ngannou for the last several months. Based on recent comments from promotion president Dana White, that may not happen until some point in 2022.
Unless Gane defeats “The Predator” and unifies the heavyweight titles.
“The one that excites me the most is the one that gets Jon paid the most money,” Winklejohn continued. “That’d be it really at this point. That’s where Jon’s at. He’s fighting everybody, he’s considered the best of all time, and I believe in my heart that they’re lined up really because they want to be like Jon Jones. And that’s what we’re looking for. That’s what Jon needs, is that kind of challenge that he can walk away knowing he beat everybody. Well, he already has, but even more, in the heavyweight division.”