BRIAN KNAPP
Ciryl Gane operated on an entirely different level from the man on the other side of the cage.
The 33-year-old Frenchman steadied himself among the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight elite, as he tracked down and systematically dismantled Sergey Spivak in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 226 headliner on Saturday at Accor Arena. Spivak (16-4, 7-4 UFC) met his end 3:44 into Round 2, losing for the first time in nearly two years.
Gane (12-2, 9-2 UFC), in his first appearance since being throttled by Jon Jones in March, was virtually flawless in his execution. He shut down an attempted takedown from Spivak with his sprawl in the first round and never looked back. Gane abused the Moldovan with clubbing shots to the head and body, targeted the legs on occasion and broke him down piece by piece. He pinned Spivak to the fence late in Round 2 and slammed a brutal knee into his guts, setting off the finishing sequence. Standing hammerfists interspersed with savage punches to the head and body went unanswered, leading referee Marc Goddard to call for the stoppage.
