Rising French star Ciryl Gane has a new opponent in Sergey Pavlovich, and the two will square off later this summer on August 8, sources confirmed to BJPENN.com after an initial report from La Sueur.
Gane (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was initially scheduled to compete at UFC 249, on April 18, against Shamil Abdurakhimov. However, the French athlete was forced to pull out of the fight due to a collapsed lung, a pneumothorax.
That fight was eventually rescheduled for July 11, but once again, it was called off. This time was the Russian fighter to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons.
Fortunately, the Frenchman quickly found a new dance partner as he’s set to lock horns with another Russian opponent, Sergey Pavlovich (14-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
Pavlovich, a Fight Nights Global veteran and former promotion’s heavyweight belt-holder, debuted in the UFC in 2018 against mixed martial arts legend Alistair Overeem. He lost that fight as he was stopped by the Dutch behemoth in the first round.
The 28-year-old Russian got right back on track after that bout, collecting two first-round knockouts over Marcelo Golm and Maurice Green.
Ciryl Gane, instead, made his first appearance in the UFC less than a year ago, on August 2019, with only a record of three victories and no losses, this after he became the TKO champion and defended that belt twice.
“Bon Gamin” is now riding a three-bout winning streak in the UFC out of three total fights, as he defeated Raphael Pessoa, Don’Tale Mayes, and Tanner Boser.
With a win against the #13 ranked heavyweight Sergey Pavlovich, Ciryl Gane could once again crack the division’s top-15. That means that he can soon potentially fight his former teammate Francis Ngannou.
“If I won’t have any other choice I’ll fight him. Say he has the belt and I’m the next in line for a title shot. If I’m chasing the belt, of course, I’m going to fight him. It’s a sport. It’s nothing personal. After that, I would train with him again without any problems. Anyway, I need to rack up a few other victories before thinking about that scenario”, Gane previously stated on BJPENN.com.
The location for Ciryl Gane vs Sergey Pavlovich is Las Vegas, most likely at Apex facilities.
How do you like this match-up? What’s your prediction? Sound off in the comment section below, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/14/2019.