Ciryl Gane’s wrestling is like En Vogue’s Lovin’ — never gonna get it.
That’s according to No. 4-ranked 265-pound contender Curtis Blaydes. “Razor” is convinced that any heavyweight with decent wrestling will be able to thwart Gane’s striking attack, like we saw when “Bon Gamin” battled both Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.
Blaydes, 32, has 62 takedowns landed under the UFC banner, a heavyweight record.
“I think he’s like a lot of guys, he got away without having to wrestle,” Blaydes told Low Kick MMA (transcribed by MMA News). “Just like Francis when he fought Stipe (Miocic). He got away with not having to learn how to wrestle. There’s a lot of guys with holes in their games because they only focus on one aspect of MMA. I know a lot of people are expecting him just to plug it. It takes years to learn how to grapple. He’s not gonna get it. I don’t expect him to get it.”
Blaydes also holds division records for both top position time and control time.
The promotion has yet to rebook Gane, 32, after “Bon Gamin” fell to Jones at UFC 285 but there is a chance the Parisian could (eventually) cross paths with Blaydes, depending on what happens when “Razor” collides with Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Vegas 71 on April 22.
Expect a victory over Pavlovich to lead to this “ridiculous” title fight.